Angels in Flight: Eien no Tobira
by Dragonfly Glimmers
Summary: Sora used to think he was different from everyone else. He has an angelic alter ego, the supernatural attending his normal highschool, and his sister likes a total delinquent who Sora believes is more than what he seems. What made Sora think differently?
1. Till the 2nd Angel Dreams

Hiya, everyone! -waves- To all you new readers, if you read through the first two chapters(granted, the first chapter is alllwaaays confusing) and are confused out of your mind, I recommend you reading, or skimming through, Angels in Flight: Towa no Shirube. If you're a reader from AiF: TnS, then...welcome back! -hug- How are you all? Good, I hope. : D

_Italics-Roxas' thoughts to Sora/Olette_

**Bold-Sora's thoughts to Roxas**

**_Bold and Italics- Man, they must have pretty good harmonics to be thinking something together._**

Angels in Flight: Eien no Tobira

Chapter 36/1:**'T**ill the 2nd Angel Dreams of the Light Shining Silver...

'**Hey, Roxas.'**

'_What do you want now, Sora? I swear, if it's anything that you all share it's that you all LOVE to bug me. Except Cloud, he was one of the quieter ones.' _

'**What's it like being over **_**2,000**_** years old?'**

A brunette with a backpack hoisted over his shoulder was walking down the sidewalk. He looked to be about sixteen, and he had marvelous eyes that depicted his namesake--Sora. Your next question may be; 'So, why's this dude talking to himself?' Answer to that: He wasn't.

Sora was a living, breathing case of two souls sharing one body. His 2,000 year old alter ego's name? Roxas, the only known six-winged angel in the _**universe.**_ Of course, no one but his family(his father, Cloud, his mother, Aerith, his sister, Olette, and Roxas' mother((and Sora/Olette's great-times-a-million-Grandmother, the abajillion-year-old Tifa)) knew about Sora's 'special condition'.

But his 'condition' had passed down through every generation of Hikari. It was a funny story about his last name, really. In order to make sure no one remembered their great-great-grandmommy's stories about what they heard from their own great-great-grandmommy about what the great-great-grandmommy's great-grandmommy saw/heard two thousand years ago(and why Sora may be 'blessed' with this 'condition'), Cloud and Aerith, along with Olette, had adopted the last name of 'Strife'.

Sora, at Roxas' insistence, kept the last name 'Hikari'. That way, if anyone interrogated him(like, 'how come you change appearance so suddenly at times?'), or found out anything, Sora could say he was adopted and knew nothing of his origin. That was not the case, but it was always good to keep a low profile.

'_What's it like being sixteen?'_ His alter ego countered to his previous question. Before Sora got the chance to answer, however, a rather annoying voice(in his opinion) interrupted what he was about to say.

"Sora! You forgot your homework again!! Really, you could stand to be more responsible!"

Sora sighed, stopping abruptly for his too-responsible-for-her-own-good-younger-by-two-minutes-twin-sister to catch up. Olette, panting, stuffed the papers in Sora's hands. "Thanks a bunch, 'Lette. You're a good sister." Sora said, then placing the papers inside his backpack.

'_Hey Olette.' _Although Roxas' voice could be heard by both siblings(the only people who could hear it were Cloud, Tifa, and the siblings), it was just Sora that could reply to him. And, for that matter, turn into him.

Olette smiled, "You know, Roxas, I don't think you should give Sora the answers to those history tests anymore."

'_Well, history has been so warped the answers I give him aren't even right anyway.'_ Roxas replied. Sometimes, it was like he was right beside them, talking to them like an actual person.

Olette giggled, "That's what I mean. Sora fails, and he never studies! He always uses you as an excuse."

"Well, you know, I get tired. Twilight Town has always dubbed Roxas as 'Twilight Town's Guardian Angel Roxas'. I wonder why they even KNOW his name in the first place? But, anyway...having to go out at night and make sure there are no bad criminals and stuff sure is tiring." Sora said, yawning as if to prove his point.

'_Yeah, it's strange. I used to steal keyblades from museums all over the world, and people hated me for it. And now, they love and venerate me even though they have no idea what I look like. Especially the girls.' _Roxas said, and you could almost see him shudder at the word 'girls'.

**'Wow. 2,000 years and no one's ever looked at your face? How'd you manage that?'** Sora questioned, but his sister's gasp made him forget he had even asked the question.

"Oh, dear!" Olette exclaimed, looking at her watch, "We're going to be late for Homeroom! C'mon, Sora, we need to hurry!" She grabbed onto Sora's arm and began running as fast as she could.

'**Hey, Roxas, can't I just use your ability to teleport places to get us there?' **Sora asked. That would save them a lot of time and trouble.

'_Olette would panic if we did that in public. Besides, you seem too hyper right now.'_ Roxas said quietly, and Olette didn't hear him anyway in her frantic worrying.

'**Right. It's not like I turn my emotions on and off like a faucet. And besides--I'd have to hit myself pretty hard to knock myself out.'** Sora replied, chuckling just as quietly.

The only two ways for Sora to turn into Roxas(thus taking on the latter's appearance and abilities and also allowing the old angel to take control) was A; for Sora to get reeeaallly angry(believe the brunette when he says that Roxas is good in a street fight) or B; he's unconscious or sleeping. And the only way for Roxas to turn back into Sora was A; for Roxas to be happy(it was such a rarity now-a-days to see the blonde smile) or B; for Roxas to separate from Sora. The latter took a lot to do, though, and it wasn't such a good idea to do because every second he did it, Roxas drew closer to going crazy. I guess the angel wasn't accustomed to being without a host. Or, it could be something else...Well, at any rate, no one except Tifa knew why it was those specific circumstances that triggered the transformation, and it wasn't something she told anyone. Not even Roxas.

"Good, we made it!" Olette panted, making it to homeroom along with Sora. As soon as Olette said that, the bell rung.

"Right on time." Sora stated, not nearly as exhausted as Olette was. He was more of the athletic type, being the star of the track team and a valued player of the Blitzball team of Twilight Town.

After attendance was done for all of the Juniors in the room, the homeroom immediately began to fill with chatter. Sora looked around for signs of his best friend in the _entire_ world, but none were found. "That's odd. Usually Riku never misses out on school. Right, Olette?" The brunette looked beside him, where his sister usually sat. "Olette!" He called, noticing she was missing.

'_I think Riku is a delinquent. I never really liked him, anyway.'_ Roxas commented. Sora shook his head and turned his head towards where the _real _delinquents were, to prove to Roxas that he was wrong.

...And there, talking to the biggest delinquent of them all(in Sora's opinion), was Olette! His sweet, innocent sister, talking to that..._hooligan,_ Hayner! By the way Olette was giggling and flipping her hair all the time, it was _**so**_ obvious she had the hots for him.

'**Roxas, can you believe that Olette is associating herself with...with...**_**Hayner?!? **_**I mean, he transferred in just a week ago...and already** **he's got Olette wrapped around his finger! I refuse to stand for this!**' Sora shouted in his mind. The angel tried to stifle a laugh, not wanting to make Sora any angrier than he already was.

'_The good girls always go for the bad guys. Afterall, opposites attract. But Olette's responsible enough to not get herself friendly with anyone...bad.'_

So, while Sora was quietly steaming(Roxas somehow persuaded him to not go over there and -coughruincough- Olette's life), the brunette did not notice someone sneaking behind him. Since Sora was already jumpy at Olette's taste in boys, he practically screamed when someone tapped him lightly on the shoulder.

"Whoa, Sora, calm down."

Sora turned around to see it was his best friend in the history of best friends, the silver-haired-boy-of-any-girl's-dreams, Riku! "Hey, Riku!" He said happily, "You missed attendance."

"Yeah, I came in late." Riku said off-handedly, like it was no big deal.

'_Huh. You call that guy talking to Olette a delinquent, but RIKU is the one who comes to class late.'_ Roxas commented, but Sora just told him to be quiet and he was too old to know what delinquents were at this day and era.

"Hey Riku, can you do me a favor?" Sora asked, and the white-haired teenager nodded, "Could you go over there," The brunette nodded his head towards where Olette was flirting with that...that...that _class-cutter_, "and drag Olette back here? Or at least to someone else _reasonable, _like maybe Yuffie, or even Paine..."

Riku nodded, but as soon as he stood up, some girl yelled, 'LOOK IT'S RIKU! GET HIM!'. Riku sighed and ran, the girls chasing him around the homeroom. The homeroom teacher, Seymour Guado(students either called him Seesawmour or Guacamole), glanced up boredly, sighed, and then continued to read papers, knowing that this was daily routine and if he got involved the girls would likely do things that I can't mention in this story to him. And Seymour DEFINITELY didn't want to get involved in that.

'_If you have to do something, you have to do it yourself.'_ Roxas sighed, and Sora nodded, walking over to Olette and her group of what she called 'friends'. Pence was okay, he was just a nerd that enjoyed Photography class _way _too much, but Hayner always skipped out on classes almost everyday. Probably 'ridin' dirty' is what Sora suspected. (Roxas laughed at the term 'ridin' dirty')

"Hey, Olette." Sora said, annoyed when Olette didn't seem to hear him. Hayner noticed him though, and slightly glared at him.

'**Did you **_**see**_** that, Roxas? Hayner gave me the 'Evil Delinquent Death Glare of Doom!' Now I'm going to start failing all my classes and everything!'** Sora wailed in his head. Roxas spared him the comment of 'Well, you're already failing everything except gym and math...'

However, the glare instantly dispersed and the guy smiled at him as if they had been best friends since...ever. "Hey, Sora. What's up?" He asked.

'**First he glares at me, now he's being friendly! I bet he's trying to be nice just to get to Olette! Well, I refuse to let that happen!'** Sora ranted, then remembering that Hayner asked him a question when Olette nudged him with her elbow.

'_I'm getting a really bad feeling about this guy...'_ Roxas mumbled, but Sora paid no attention to his albeit wiser alter ego.

"Oh, nothing much." The over-protective brunette laughed uneasily, and then his expression immediately turned to seriousness, "So, **Hayner,"** Sora spoke the name with loathing, "Just what were you and Olette talking about?"

"Sora!" She whispered angrily, stepping on his foot as if that would cease his interrogation with the object of Olette's affection. But it did not.

"We were just talking about History class and how tough the test was yesterday..." Hayner said, with that tone of voice that said 'I'm not intimidated of _**you!**_'.

"Oh, really? That's not what it looked like to me! And how would you know how hard the test was yesterday, considering you WEREN'T EVEN THERE!" Sora replied angrily, not really liking this guy. Usually, Sora never EVER got mad and was always so friendly to everyone, but this was not the case for Hayner(who then replied 'Take a chill pill.'). He heard Olette gasp and before he knew what happened, there was a black towel over his head that prevented him from seeing anything.

Sora tried to take the towel off his head, to realize he couldn't. It was then that he noticed his body was moving on it's own. At first, Sora panicked, but then he remembered that he had an alter ego and assumed that he was the one in control.

'_Sora, you really need to control your anger better.'_ Roxas commented, feeling the towel on his head. Olette obviously put it there so no one would see that Sora's hair turned dirty blonde and his hairstyle changed. Olette, ever the smart one, always carried towels on her in case of a dire emergency.

'**That guy was just asking for it! Man, Roxas, I wish you could snap your fingers and burn him into oblivion or something!'**

'_I could, and as much as I want to, I can't. That would really hurt Olette.'_

Speaking of the girl, Roxas could hear her make up an excuse to the teacher and he could feel himself being dragged somewhere. When the towel was taken off of his head, he realized he was in the Janitors' closet with Olette.

"Great! What are we supposed to do now?" Olette asked, hands on her hips. "I suppose I could always make up an excuse that you're sick and went home or something, but..."

"I'll leave and explain everything to mother and Aerith." Roxas said, and Olette nodded, "Can you think up of an excuse?"

"I'll tell everyone you weren't feeling well." Olette said, and then added, "Sora. You stay out of my business, okay?"

'**Tell her that she's my sister and that I can't have her hanging around people who will pressure her into doing drugs and other bad stuff!'**

Roxas repeated what Sora told him to say. She just huffed and crossed her arms, "Hayner isn't a bad person! Don't judge people before you know them!" She yelled, stomping away angrily.

'_She's right, you know. But, I'm afraid I have to agree with you, Sora. I'm getting really bad vibes from that guy.' _Roxas said, exiting the school. He didn't even bother going to the office and telling them that he'd be leaving; usually Olette handled everything. (It just goes to show you how much their school cared about the students; letting them leave without trying to stop them)

'**Yeah, I know what you mean.'** Sora grumbled, and the two were mostly talking about how they didn't like Hayner(poor Hayner) the rest of the way.

On the way back to their home, Roxas passed the church. When he did, he stopped and walked back to the entrance of it, his hand resting on the doorknob. _'Can I go in?' _As an angel, Roxas was rather fond of churches. Whenever he passed one, his 'angel vibes' went off and he just...got this urge to go inside. Like everyone in the church's prayers were reaching to him. Or something.

'**Sure; but there's not going to be anyone in there.'**

Roxas opened the door, closed it behind him, and walked inside. There was no one, just as Sora predicted. As he walked towards the altar, he noticed that there was a petite girl, around his...apparent age(Roxas only looked sixteen), and then there was an older woman who was comforting the girl, who seemed to be crying.

Roxas, not liking girls crying, stood behind them and decided that he would try to comfort her by doing the best thing he knew how to do: sing.

"_In the darkness of white you can,_

_through the sadness take your flight,_

_and become the wings that pierce the veil,_

_spreading strong and true tonight..."_ The blue-eyed blonde didn't feel like singing the rest of his song, so he just stopped there. The older woman turned around, and frowned. Roxas blinked, wondering why the woman would be sad, "I'm sorry, did I interrupt anything?"

"No. It's just...by your voice, I assumed you were an angel giving us reassurance that my husband has passed on to Heaven. I apologize for assuming such a ridiculous thing." The woman answered, bowing her head slightly. Then, the girl turned around.

Both Sora and Roxas gasped when they saw her face.

'_**She's--!'**_

* * *

HnH: Bwahaha! Who is this girl? And WHY ISN'T SHE IN SCHOOL? And who's the older woman? And why do Sora and Roxas show deep disdain towards Hayner? What did he ever do to them? And what about Riku? Why was he late? Is Sora the actual delinquent for SKIPPING OUT ON SCHOOL? So many questions to be answered in the next chapter!(Okay...maybe, like, two of them will be answered but that's not important right now...) 

Oh, and, just an odd little tidbit I feel you guys need to know: Olette wasn't originally intended to be Sora's sister. But I thought, 'Man, how awesome would that be!' Afterall, Olette is, like, the spitting image of Aerith. And Sora is like, Cloud with Aerith's brown hair. So I was like, 'Okay. I hope no one will mind if I make them siblings!' Afterall, considering their parents it's possible. Brown does outdo blonde in the gene pool.

Actually, I intended Olette to like...not even be in the story. Since her and Sora being siblings takes up story time(yay! everyone gather 'round for story time!) that I would've used for something else, I was like 'hmmm...either this or siblings'. Then I wanted to make a special entrance scene for this once character that would only be possible if they were siblings. And then I got a brilliant idea and I was like, ''kayz, that is SOOO much better than the original version. They're SO being siblings!'

And there you go. Olette and Sora being brother and sister was born.


	2. Of all the Lonely Soldiers

Thanks to Winged Serenity(aw, thank you! -hug-) Ellie, Feathers of Hope, Night Rain Illusion, chibi minamoto, Miraclexofxlight, My Car is Gone, Princess Kaira of Mirana, KeytoDestiny, O.K.A., wildninja, Sykic(I love your unique penname!), Rose77, kinmoku2, Random, O.K.A, lebrezie, kingdomfantasyanime435, Kale Hikari, and Echo the Ethereal Swordsman(what an awesome penname)!

Oh, I forgot to mention. There was supposed to be a prologue to this story, but I couldn't figure it out. The one I had planned was entirely too cheesy...so I was like, 'Ah, screw it. They're not missing much anyway.' I mean, some stories just don't do well with prologues. You know what I mean? Like...I've never really prologued(I have now made this word into a verb!) any stories before. I mean...the prequel was kinda like a REALLY LONG prologue(THE LONGEST PROLOGUE _**EVER**_) to the whole thing, you know? You know what's funny? I was not even planning on writing AiF: TnS. The story was completely different, too. I don't think any of you are interested, so I won't babble.

Disclaimer: OMG I OWN EVERYTHING! ...No, wait, that's just a dream...

_Italics- Roxas' thoughts to Sora/Olette_

**Bold- Sora's thoughts to Roxas**

_**Bold and Italics- Thinking something together**_

Angels in Flight: Eien no Tobira

Chapter 37/2: **O**f all the Lonely Soldiers...

'_**She's...'**_

'**...Totally gorgeous!'**

'_...Naminé's sister!'_

"..." The 'totally gorgeous sister of Naminé' sniffed and said, "Thank you so much...for trying to cheer me up! That was...really sweet of you! You're gifted with...the voice of the...angels!"

"I'm Rinoa, this is my daughter, Kairi." Rinoa, the older woman, said, gesturing towards the auburn-haired girl.

"Um...I'm..." Roxas didn't know what to say. If he said Roxas, Kairi would likely glomp him and suffocate him. It was then that he knew what to call himself, "...Ven. It's nice to meet you, Rinoa, Kairi." He held out his hand, expecting them to shake it.

"Pleasure to meet you, too, Ven!" The indigo-eyed girl replied, and instead of shaking his hand, she kissed him on both of his cheeks! The blonde's mouth hung open slightly, shocked at such a display of affection when they had just met.

'**No way! Ugh, why do you **_**always**_** have the luck with girls?'** Sora asked, and from his tone Roxas could tell he was probably SO green from envy he was turning purple.

Then Rinoa did the same thing! Roxas, not used to, well...being kissed by **complete** strangers, completely flushed. He may be over 2,000 years old, but he had not physically, and maybe mentally, aged beyond sixteen.

'_They're some pretty friendly people...'_ He mumbled, rubbing his cheek as if he could not believe what had just happened.

Rinoa blinked, noting his red face, "Oh, I'm sorry. Is that not how you greet people in Twilight Town?"

"No, no...it is." Roxas lied, and then noticed how she worded her question, "Are you two not from Twilight Town?"

Rinoa nodded, as Kairi looked like she was about to start crying again, and was in no condition to talk, "Yes. We're from Destiny Islands. We are in the process of moving. Her father...my husband...just died yesterday and I..." She was too upset to say anymore, so Roxas just nodded showing he understood.

'**This sure ****is**** destiny! Ask her where Kairi's going to school!' **Sora said enthusiastically. Roxas rolled his eyes, restraining from any thoughts that the brunette would be able to tune into.

"I'm not going to lie: It's going to be really tough dealing with a tragedy and handling going to a new school at the same time. Maybe we'll be at the same school." The blonde said, his blush dying down.

"Kairi's going to the High School right down the road. Tsugare High, I believe?" Rinoa asked, placing an arm around her daughter who was sobbing silently.

"I go to Catholic School, which is off on Fridays, that's why I'm not in school right now." Roxas explained. After seeing the disappointed expressions in both Rinoa and Kairi, he added, "But my two best friends attend that school. They are Sora Hikari and Olette Strife. Just tell them you know me, Ven Highwind."

"Strife?" Rinoa asked, tilting her head, "Isn't that...?" She then shook her head and said, "Thank you so much for helping Kairi, Ven. She is too overwhelmed at her father's death to show her appreciation, but we are so grateful!" Rinoa said, hugging Roxas.

"Ma'am, I deeply sympathize with your loss. However, I can tell you that your husband is in Heaven." He said, smiling slightly. "Showing this much emotion over one person can only mean he was a wonderful person."

"Daddy..." Kairi sniffed, "Daddy was...a wonderful person. He fought...valiantly to the very...end!" Rinoa smiled through her tears and gave another hug to her daughter.

'_**Fought valiantly?'**_ They both asked each other. Roxas decided not to press the matter on an already upset girl.

"Ven, thank you for comforting my daughter, but we must leave now. Monday is Kairi's big day!" She said, patting the said girl's shoulder, and she only smiled sadly in response.

"Um...I hope I'll...see your friends, Ven. I will see you...around, won't I?" Kairi asked, and Roxas nodded.

"Yeah, you will. I'm all over the place these days. I'll see you later, Kairi!" He waved to both of the females before they exited the church. Looking around, he noticed that the church was _empty_. Totally and completely.

'_That's odd. Usually there should be someone here.'_ Roxas thought, and Sora agreed.

'**By the way...that girl, Kairi...you said she was some chick's sister? And, what was with that name 'Ven Highwind', anyway?'**

'_If you EVER call Naminé a chick again, I swear I am going to pound you into a bloody pulp until you beg for mercy and your body is numb from the pain. 'Chick' is what Seifer used to call her...' _Roxas sighed, trailing off.

'**Seifer?'** Sora asked, sounding confused, **'Roxas, you totally lost me there.'**

'_It's a long story. Let's just say that Seifer is the evil Lord of Darkness that hated me and was attracted to Naminé, but I killed him. And Kairi...Well, it's a really complicated story about Kairi. But I'll just say she was Naminé's sister. You know, my brother took an interest in her as well. I can hardly say I'm surprised there's a connection between you two.'_ Roxas said, closing his eyes and sitting down. Might as well make himself comfortable, he didn't really feel like leaving yet.

'**Okay...but who's Nadine or whatever? And, you have a brother?'** Sora asked.

'_Naminé. __She's the whole reason why I'm talking to you. It's a story I don't feel like explaining right now.' _Roxas replied, ignoring Sora's 'lazy!' comment, _'And, yes, I had a brother. His name...was Sora, and he looked just like you. I think you might be the possessor of his unnaturally pure heart. Anyway, Ven Highwind is __**my**__ alter ego.'_

Sora gasped in disbelief. His alter ego's alter ego?!? No way! **'Are you serious?'** He asked, not believing it. No, Roxas couldn't be serious...right? Wouldn't Sora hear his alter ego's alter ego's thoughts, too?

'_As serious as you believe me to be.'_ Roxas stated, letting Sora come up with his own conclusions. And since they could read each other's minds, those conclusions were quite freaky and insane.

-

"So. You're telling me that Sora got mad at this Hayner kid because he was talking with Olette?"

"And then he transformed and here we are." Roxas explained to his mother, who did not even have graying hair or anything. She looked as young as Sora's parents(Aerith and Cloud did look youthful for their age).

Speaking of parents, only one of Sora and Olette's was present at the moment. That was their mother, Aerith. Their father, Cloud, was away on a business trip or something like that. Olette was the twin who paid attention to all the details, not Sora.

Aerith said calmly, "But it's really not your fault. You were trying to protect Olette, right?"

Roxas nodded, "The thing is, we're both getting a really bad vibe from this Hayner guy. I can't really identify it."

"Bad vibe?" Tifa asked, crossing her arms and tilting her head, "Well, I wouldn't be worried about it too much. If he were _really_ bad news, Olette would get the same feeling as you two."

"Tifa's right. You probably are just not used to seeing Olette with guys. It's a natural, brotherly feeling." Aerith said.

'**Yeah, but, then why do you feel it, too, Roxas?'** Sora asked. It wasn't like they were ACTUALLY related or anything. Come to think of it, Sora kind of assumed Roxas was completely indifferent about Olette and himself. Like they were just obstacles he needed to overcome in order to get to Naminé.

'_Just because she's not my biological sister doesn't mean anything. I care about her just as much as you do, Sora.'_ Roxas stated, then adding, '_And don't think that way. I don't consider you two 'obstacles'. You're my family.'_

'**That sounds really weird coming from you.'**

Roxas sighed, _'Everything sounds weird coming from me these days.'_

"Oh, that reminds me. Mother, I met Kairi today." Roxas said. Aerith seemed to be surprised at the name 'Kairi', and both boys wondered why. Aerith didn't know about Kairi and her connection to them, so why would she be surprised?

"Kairi? Really? Well, then this means that Naminé's coming back soon. Keep your eyes peeled, Roxas." Tifa said, smiling. Though her smile was no match for Roxas' one. The thought of the girl he loved dearly coming back was enough to make his entire week.

And with that happiness, Sora found himself back in control. Aerith smiled and laughed slightly. "You really love her, don't you, Roxas?" She asked.

"I can even tell that he does." Sora said, nodding his head.

"May I ask something?" Aerith asked. Sora thought it was weird that his MOTHER was asking him permission to ask something, but he nodded anyway. "...Did you also meet Kairi's parents?"

"Well, I met her mother, Rinoa. From what I heard, her father died." Sora said, and Aerith looked like she was going to cry. "Mom? What's the matter?" He asked, panicking. Aerith was usually so happy and cheerful; she never really got sad over anything.

"Cloud isn't going to be happy about this. He and Squall were best friends." She placed her hands in her lap and sighed, "Did Rinoa speak of how Squall died?"

Sora assumed that 'Squall' must be Kairi's father, "Kairi said that he 'fought valiantly to the very end' or something."

Tifa and Aerith exchanged nervous glances. Sora noted this and was determined to find out why they were nervous, "So, what does this mean?" He asked.

"I--It doesn't mean anything, Sora!" Tifa said, then shooing him into his room which was on the second floor of the house.

There were three floors: the first floor which contained a kitchen, Cloud and Aerith's room, and a huge dining room, the second floor contained Sora's bedroom along with Tifa's, and there was a family room on that floor, which, finally, spiral-staircased up to the third floor, which was Olette's room.(She said she liked the view from her window)

'**So, what do you think, Roxas?'** Sora asked, wanting the older angel's opinion on the whole ordeal.

'_...She's really coming back...Naminé's really coming back...'_ Was all Roxas said.

'**Roxas!'** Sora yelled, trying to get the angel's attention.

'_Will...will she remember me?...Will I have to deal with her memory loss a second time?...Will she...will she even...be in love with me, anymore? Have I changed? Will she not like me the way I am now?'_ But still, Sora's attempts to get his attention went unnoticed.The brunette sighed, giving up. Roxas was a lost cause.

So. What did Sora have to do? Wait.

-_Meanwhile, with Olette-_

"Wait, Olette, Sora's not your actual brother, right?" It was lunch. She and her friend Yuffie(whom had just asked her the question) were sitting with Riku at the lunch tables. Olette didn't know anyone else; the rest of the people were all prissy Sophomores or shy Freshmen. Then there was the Seniors, which sat in a different section in the cafeteria, where they served fast food and had a TV and an air hockey table and everything. Of course, that section was guarded by Security guards(They care about their Seniors eating lunch, but not about students leaving school, huh...?) so no one could get in unless the Seniors allowed them too. But, enough about the Seniors...

"That's right..." She said, feeling guilty that she had to lie about Sora due to Roxas. But Sora knew about it; so it was cool. Olette looked around, and noticed that Riku had a really odd look on his face. "Riku...? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." He mumbled, turning back to his lunch. She blinked, wondering what was wrong with him. It seemed like something was...off. However, before she got to ask...

"Hey Olette."

To see who the voice was, the green-eyed brunette turned around to see...Hayner? "Hayner? Didn't you have lunch _last_ period?" She asked as the boy sat down across from her, pushing Yuffie to the side a bit. Yuffie herself didn't mind because she was busy talking to some girl next to her.

"Yeah. But talking to you is a lot more fun than Math any day." Hayner said, blowing a bubble with the gum in his mouth. It made a loud 'pop', and then he started to chew on it again.

Olette smiled and giggled, "Oh, you flatter me too much, Hayner!" She said, casually flipping her hair behind her shoulder.

He grinned, "I'm only stating the truth."

Riku, knowing that Sora didn't want Olette anywhere NEAR the guy, said, "Hayner, I really think you should get to class. If you get held back next year, you won't be in any of the same classes as Olette. I'm sure you **wouldn't want that?**" He asked it almost venomously, as if Riku were talking to that one fangirl that latched onto his leg and stayed there for two whole days. He still had the nail marks from where the girl _ripped_ into his skin.

Hayner gave him a glare, but Riku just gave it right back.

Olette sighed, _'Sora must have told him to separate us...'_ She thought. She knew this would start an argument, and then the teachers would get involved, and then this would go on her permaneant record, and then...! _'I can't let this happen!'_ She thought, ready to stop whatever fight that was going to commence.

Instead, much to her surprise, Hayner said, "Fine. See you next period, Olette." Then he got up, and walked away. Olette was almost _in shock_ that he had gone back to class so easily.

"Are you guys friends?" Olette asked, curious to why the tough, 'I-don't-care' _Hayner_ would listen to the slightly-emo 'I-care-but-don't-show-it' _Riku._ Honestly, they were like, in polar opposite cliques.

"No." Riku said. He glanced at the brunette, who looked perplexed, "We know each other from Destiny Islands."

"_Destiny Islands?_..." Olette blinked, "But Riku, you've been here since...forever! I never knew you moved here."

"All of my family except for my cousin and my mother live in Destiny Islands. My mother, my cousin and I all live in Twilight Town. Sora never told you that?" Riku asked, and Olette shook her head in response.

"Does your cousin go to this school?" Olette asked. The white-haired teen nodded and pointed over to a table. Olette leaned back so she could see where Riku's cousin was.

Once she thought she spotted his cousin, she looked back and forth to see any resemblance between them. "Your cousin is the albino, right?" She asked, and he nodded. "She's a freshman here?" She knew that because his cousin was sitting next to one of the air-headed jocks of the football team(that Olette had seen numerous times with Yuffie), Rai.

"Yeah, she turned fifteen a week ago." Riku said. Olette thought it was odd that they wouldn't want to sit next to each other. "Her name's Fuu."

"How come you're not sitting next to each other?" She questioned, getting even more confused when she saw the scoff on his face. _'Do they not like each other?'_ Olette asked herself.

"You see the vending machines near their table?" Riku asked, and the brunette nodded, clearly seeing the vending machines _right_ by where Fuu and Rai were sitting, "You go there, pretend you're buying something, and listen to our conversation. You go first." He commanded. The green-eyed girl nodded, got up, and walked over to the vending machines.

When she looked back to see if Riku was joking around(which was highly unlikely), she saw him walk towards Fuu, so Olette turned back around and listened intently to their conversation.

"Hey Fuu, do you and Rai want to sit with me, Yuffie, and Olette? We have plen-" Riku didn't finish his sentence before Fuu cut him off with a 'no'. "Why not?"

"Aunt." The albino girl replied. Olette got the feeling Fuu didn't talk all that much.

"Don't go commanding Fuu's life, y'know? Kinda unfair, y'know?" Rai said. Olette was shocked _twice_ in one day; it was a new record for her! First Hayner went to class because of Riku, and now Rai using a word more than six letters...? Just what was the world coming to?

"Fuu, is that really a way to be? Not liking me because of your aunt--my mother?" Riku asked. Olette stifled a giggle, imaging him putting his hands on his hips at this moment.

"Home." Was all Fuu replied with.

"Fuu wants to be back home?" Rai asked, the apparent intelligence that seemed to have came went just as easily, "I thought she was from here, y'know?"

"Yes, but what does that have to do with me?" Riku countered, completely ignoring Rai(who was ignored in the first place, so he didn't seem to notice).

"Heritage. Beliefs." Was all Fuu had to answer. Olette wondered what she meant by that. _'Heritage? Beliefs? Is this some kind of religious dispute?'_ The girl could only wonder, hearing Riku walk away. She turned around and saw a huge line behind her, around a mile long. All the kids had bored or angry expressions on their faces.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" She quickly scurried back to her table so she wouldn't hold them up any longer. Once she returned back to the table, she looked at Riku, who shrugged. "Um..." Olette felt as if it were to be rude of her to pry, so she didn't say anything. When she finally got the courage to ask, the bell rang as soon as a word escaped her lips. She sighed, knowing that both Riku and Hayner shared a class with her(and Sora) next period, which was History.

Making her way to her class, Olette sat in her assigned seat. Hayner sat one seat up and to the left of her, and Riku sat directly in front of her. Sora's assigned seat(which was currently unoccupied), unfortunately, was right in the middle row, front seat. The bell rang again, signifying that it was time to start class. However, she did not spot her teacher anyway in sight. Which was odd, Nooj never was late. It was five minutes into class when someone, definitely not their teacher, walked in.

"Okay, people. Quiet down, quiet down. Nooj, uh..." The guy scratched his head, "...had some important business to attend to, and won't be back until next year. _**So,**_ for the remainder of the year, _**I**_ will be your History teacher. My name is--"

"You don't look a day over eighteen!" One student shouted, and at that proclamation, all the girls(excluding Olette) took out their camera phones and began to take pictures. Fangirlish squeals made everyone stop what they were saying and cover their ears. Riku, just as a precaution, ducked under his desk.

The guy sighed, "I'm taken." The girls 'awwed', but he continued, "As I was saying, I'm Gippal Machina. Mr. Machina sounds stupid, so just call me 'Mr.M'. Any questions?"

Olette saw Riku(once he came out of his 'hiding place' from underneath the desk) and Hayner glance at each other nervously. Hayner raised his hand, and the platinum blonde eye-patched teacher called on him. He asked, "Can I go to the bathroom?" When Gippal gave him the permission, he added, "I don't know where it is; I just transferred to this school. Can my friend show me?" The teacher nodded, and both Hayner and Riku _sprinted_ out of the room.

'_What odd behavior.'_ Olette thought, but dismissed it. Maybe Hayner _**really**_ needed to go. When a guy's gotta go, a guy's gotta go.

"Who were those two students?" Gippal asked, a pen and paper(which likely was the class roster) on the empty desk that would've been Sora's seat. Out of the bag he had brought, he fished around for something in it, and took out a bottle which contained a red liquid that kind of looked like blood. He noticed all the students stare at him, and he laughed. "You want to know what this is?"

Everyone, including Olette, nodded. Gippal laughed some more, "Do you know what happens to students who don't listen to me?" It was the students' turn to shake their heads, "I drain out all their blood. This is what's left over of one student, by the name of Billy." Gippal shook the bottle, letting the 'blood' slosh around in the half-filled water bottle.

One girl fainted. Everyone else screamed. Their eye-patched platinum blonde teacher began to laugh his head off, saying, "It's so difficult when people take me seriously! Relax, guys, it's just fruit punch."

"I-It's not real blood?" Olette asked. Gippal nodded.

"You guys sure are gullible, though. This'll be a fun class." He said, taking a drink of the fruit punch and then setting it down on the desk. "Anyway, anyone care to answer me about who those two guys were?" He then took a look at the time, "He better be constipated after all this time."

"That was Riku Almasy and Hayner--" The kid who was telling Gippal what the names of those two were was cut off by the eye patched teacher himself.

Although he did not say anything, he flinched so violently that he knocked over the bottle of fruit punch, and since the cap was not on it, it spilled all over the floor. However, Gippal did not seem to care. "Everyone, I want you to write a five-page essay on Princess Naminé and her death. It's due Monday, so get working on it!" He said hastily, leaving the room immediately afterwards.

However, no one got working on it. Instead, everyone began investigating the 'fruit punch'(except the girl that had fainted, of course) to see if it was actually what Gippal said it was, because it looked like blood. Not fruit punch.

"I'll give someone ten bucks if they taste it!" Someone shouted, and another kid poked the liquid and then tasted it. Everyone, including Olette, watched for the kid's reaction.

Everyone gasped as the kid started to _glow._ '_Impossible!'_ Olette thought, shaking her head, _'Humans don't __**glow! **__Something isn't right here...why haven't Hayner and Riku returned yet, and where did our teacher go?...'_

Then the glow disappeared as soon as it had came. "Wow...it was like you were an angel for a minute or something. Cool, dude!" Another kid said, clapping the used-to-be-glowing kid on the back.

'_Angel? If only Roxas were here, he could identify this...'_ Olette thought, '_Wait. That kid glowed...could this be angel blood? Then our teacher was drinking...angel blood?!?'_

She gasped, knowing that she should leave school and go home immediately. But her perfect attendance record since _preschool_ would be ruined. And, honestly, what was more important? Her perfect attendance record, or a substitute teacher who drinks angel blood?

For some reason, the substitute teacher seemed a lot more important.

* * *

Short chapter, I know. But I didn't feel like doing any more scene changes, you know? Okay...time for this chapter's questions... 

Why was Gippal drinking angel blood? Was it even angel blood? How did he get it in the first place? What about Riku and Fuu? What's their deal; why do they hate each other? What about Hayner and Riku; are they really friends? Or is it something else?(don't worry, there's no yaoi -gets shot by yaoi/crack fangirls-) Why did Gippal run out on class? Why did he assign them a five-page essay?!? And just HOW did Kairi's father die? How does Aerith know them? Is Tifa and Aerith keeping something from Sora? And why is Roxas spacing out?!? Will Olette risk her perfect attendance record to warn Sora/Roxas/Tifa/Aerith about Gippal? Where is Nooj in the midst of all of this? And does Roxas really have an alter ego? If so, just who is this Ven Highwind? The answers to quarter of those questions and more, in the next chapter!

Um...any other questions I forgot to mention go here...xD So...review, guys! And if you have any predictions, I'd love to hear them. :D Um...yeah, I dunno what else to say here. So just review, people!


	3. Thirteenth Regret of the Days Before

Thanks a bunch to Ellie, lebrezie, kinmoku2(Ergh! You must update your stories!), kingdomfantasyanime453, Echo the Ethereal Swordsman(may I just call you Echo?), Random, Orika, and O.K.A!

A note...When Sora is thinking to himself(i.e. when Roxas isn't there to hear him) it's _'showed like this'_ but it says 'Sora thought' afterward so you won't get confused. Example...

_'This is a terrible example, HnH!'_ Sora thought angrily.

**Disclaimer:** Kingdom Hearts would be sooooo different if I owned it. Roxas and Nami-chan would actually have LIVES and not be condemned to being inside Sora and Kairi FOREVER. And Riku would have someone to love. Riku being alone makes me sad. :(

**Sora's thoughts to Roxas**

_Roxas' thoughts to Sora/Olette_

_**We're all in this together:) (thinking something together)**_

Angels in Flight: Eien no Tobira

Chapter 38/3: **T**hirteenth Regret of the Days Before Dawn

Olette rushed home soon after she had collected the sample of the 'fruit punch'. But that was after she had seen all of her teachers, got all the work and the notes, and begged for the teachers to not mark her absent. _'Security sure is lacking lately...'_ She thought, and then shrugged.

She soon made it to her home, where she was _about_ to open the door, but she heard her mother and Tifa conversing inside. Olette knew it was rude to eavesdrop, but this could be really important!

"So. Squall is dead. Do you think Cloud died as well?" She heard Tifa say. _'Father's...dead?'_ Olette thought, her eyes widening and her mouth dropping. Was Sora in there?!? What did he think of this?!? This was so...so sudden!

"Cloud wouldn't let the darkness get to him. He wouldn't..." Olette heard Aerith start to sob. Her mother never cried, she was always so optimistic she never shed any tears over anything. Aerith crying practically meant Cloud _**was**_ dead.

"Oh no!" Olette gasped silently, not believing it. Their father died? She ran around the house, looking at the second-floor window which was Sora's room. The window was open, so she shouted, "Sora!" Loud enough so he would hear(if he was in his room) but quiet enough so that Aerith and Tifa wouldn't hear.

Just as Olette predicted, Sora poked his head outside the window. "Hey, Olette! How come you're home early?..." He said, and sighed, going back inside. She waited a moment, until a rope ladder they made five years ago(was it still sturdy? She could only hope...) came down. Olette climbed up the ladder into Sora's room.

"Roxas, I need you for a moment." Olette said, and by the tone of her voice, Sora knew she wasn't kidding.

"Man, I hate doing this..." He sighed, looking through his drawers for a bottle of pills. He sat down on his bed and popped a couple in his mouth. They were sleeping pills, sure to knock you out. If they needed a transformation, this was the only way to do it; for Sora to take sleeping pills. Anyway, as soon as the brunette went to sleep, his hair turned blonde and somehow morphed hairstyles.

"Don't tell Sora I said this, but he has _**really**_ bad fashion sense." Roxas murmured, shaking his head slightly. "Anyway, what's up?"

"Identify this." She held out a plastic bag that had the unidentified substance in it. Roxas took it and stared at it for a moment. "A kid tasted it and he started to glow...I think it might be angel's blood."

"Well, only one way to find out." He said, drinking the whole thing. His eyes widened and then he squeezed them shut. "Aagh!" He cried out in what Olette thought was pain. Roxas started to glow, but his face was contorted in extreme pain. _Olette_ even felt a pang of pain rush up her spine.

"Oh my god!" She gasped, quickly running behind him and performing the Heimlech maneuver she saw in a Health video once. It took a couple of tries, but Roxas spit out the wicked fruit punch. Or whatever it was. He stopped glowing, and the pain vanished from their backs immediately, like it was never there. "That...that was odd. Why would only our backs hurt?"

"Ow..." Both Roxas and Olette turned around to see who had also felt their pain. Their eyes widened when they saw who.

"What? _**Sora?"**_ They asked simultaneously. Indeed, the brunette was laying on the floor, rubbing his back. Olette looked back and forth between Roxas and her brother.

"What happened? It's not possible for you guys to separate unless Roxas wills it...right?" Olette said, sounding more like a question than a statement.

"Ugh, I dunno..." Roxas rubbed his shoulders and winced in pain, "That was some pretty powerful stuff. That was definitely a Seraphim's blood. That is going to_** kill **_whatever human drinks it."

"But you're an angel, Roxas, it shouldn't hurt you." Olette stated, looking back at Sora, who shrugged.

"I don't know what that source of pain was coming from; but it was really intense. Sora, you okay?" Roxas asked, looking back at the said person.

"It kind of felt like someone was drilling six holes into my back. Maybe you accidentally pushed me out of our body or something and were too distracted by the pain to remember. That was a really weird sensation..." Sora said, getting up. Roxas sighed and walked right into Sora, them merging again.

'_That was really weird. Why would angel's blood hurt me? ...Olette, who was drinking that stuff?'_ Roxas,who had gone back inside Sora, said.

"Our substitute teacher." Olette answered. Her brother seemed to be thanking God for a moment.

'**Yes! Thank you, God! Thank you!!'**

'_Sora, calm down. This isn't a good thing. If this guy is drinking angel blood and living through it, whereas to I can barely stand it, we have a really bad situation on our hands.' _

"Substitute teacher? For who?" Sora asked, tilting his head slightly and ignoring his alter ego.

"Nooj. This substitute teacher's name is Gippal Machina..." Olette said, biting her lip.

'_Gippal?!? No...'_ Roxas seemed surprised.

"Is it someone you know, Roxas?" She asked, tilting her head like Sora.

'_I can't be sure...We're going to have to wait until Monday to see if this is a threat or not.' _

"Did mother or Tifa mention something about father dying?" Olette asked suddenly.

'**What's this about?'**

'_I don't know,'_ Roxas replied softly, so Olette wouldn't hear, _'Ask her.'_

"Father dying? What do you mean?" He asked, and his sister just shrugged.

"I heard Tifa--"

At her name being called, the black-haired woman(she must have very good hearing) burst into the room. "Olette," She said sternly, grabbing the girl by her arm and dragging her out of the room(and then closing the door behind them), "How much did you hear?"

"Um..." Olette was a bit shocked at the tone of Tifa's voice. Nothing ever really provoked her serious side unless it was like, a High Demon Lord or something that could really endanger them all, "I heard that some person named Squall was dead and that father may be dead, too...it's not true, is it?!?"

"Olette..." The girl saw her mother beckon her into Tifa's bedroom, where she went into along with Tifa. Aerith locked the door behind her, "Please don't tell Sora OR Roxas anything we are about to tell you."

"Why?" The girl asked, sitting down on a chair and folding her hands in her lap. Olette mentally prepared herself for any news she was about to receive.

"If you tell him, it might tip the balance of emotions. It might trigger something we're not ready for." Tifa said, but the girl just tilted her head, wanting a more detailed answer, "For example, it might upset _**Roxas**_ so much that he will go berserk inside of Sora. Now, that has never happened before, so Sora could go insane as well. Or maybe Sora could completely lock himself inside his own mind, thus trapping him in his thoughts, letting Roxas take perpetual control. We could never talk or see Sora again."

Olette gasped. She couldn't even begin to imagine those horrific scenes in her head. They were just too...impossible to even consider! "Relax, Olette." Aerith said calmly, "We don't even know if any of those things could happen. Even if they do, we could always take him to Sephiroth, who would be able to fix him."

Tifa nodded, and then sat down along with Aerith. "What we were saying about before..."

-

"So, Olette, what did Mom and Tifa want?" Sora asked later, after Olette had finished her talk with the both of the aforementioned parents.

"It's nothing, Sora...it's nothing." However, her brother was not stupid enough to fall for that excuse. Her face was really pale, and her eyes were red as if she had been crying. But Sora didn't want to ask her, she must have had her reasons for keeping quiet about whatever was bugging her.

"Oh! If I hurry, I can still make it back to school to catch the end of Marine Science! Bye!" She grabbed all of her things and out she went. Sora just stared after her, an expression depicting the word 'incredulous' on her face.

'**Seriously, she needs to like...get the flu or something. She looked like she just died, and she still **_**wants**_** to go to school.'** He thought, shaking his head.

'_Yeah, Olette definitely inherited an angel's immune system._'

"So, Roxas, what to do now? I mean...we have, like, five hours before we need to make our daily rounds." Sora said, sighing and looking out his window. "Maybe we can go and see where Kairi lives!"

'_Oh yes. She is going to be so thrilled that she has a stalker.'_ Roxas said sarcastically.

'**Oh, like you never stalked Nadine or whatever!'**

'_T-That was a different story!'_ Sora grinned; he knew his alter ego was blushing.

'**Oh really. How so? We have time, so don't use the lame excuse of 'it's a long story!' Gah, I hate that!'**

'_Fine.'_ Roxas sighed, caving in, _'It goes kind of like this...'_

-

"Oh, wow!" Both Olette(after she had returned from the remainder of her school day) and Sora gasped, the first of which was writing this all down. Roxas was finished with his long and boring story of why he was here.

'_Why are you writing this down, Olette?'_ The angel questioned.

"We have a report due on Princess Naminé's death Monday. I wrote it for Sora because I know he would've asked you, anyway." Olette said, handing the five pages of neatly written essay to her brother.

"You're the best sister _**ever**_, Olette!" Sora said, hugging his twin. He read through the papers briefly; assuming they were right and not really caring if they weren't.

'_How awful; you're neglecting your schoolwork.'_ Roxas 'tsk tsked' at Sora, and I'm sure he would've been shaking his head slightly had he _actually_ been in the room.

She sighed, "I'm just doing this because you claim you 'don't have the time' due to your nightly rounds. But, _**I**_ need to research the _**right**_ answer in my textbook..." She smiled, waved, and then exited the room.

'_Was she calling my story a lie?'_ Roxas seemed really hurt by what she said.

'**Of course not, Roxie.** **Olette just meant 'researching the answer that everyone else believes'.** **You know that people don't know about you...right? Except that you were apart of an Organization that wanted to kill her...and then there was that lie that said you guys sold her out to Vayne who then murdered her.' **Sora didn't know he was hitting a sensitive spot with Roxas. But he was, when the angel talked he sounded like he was crying or extremely upset.

'_I-It's not true! I...I never hurt her on purpose! I...'_ It was some kind of emotion mixed between sadness and anger, Sora could tell that much.

'**I know, I know. Hey, look, it's time!'** Sora glanced at the clock, and no, it wasn't 'time'. But he wanted Roxas to get his mind off of history and the lies that buried the truth.

'_Right...'_

-

It was Monday, the start of another school week after a very uneventful weekend, at least it was for Sora and Olette. This time, they made it to homeroom on time, even before the bell rang. After the bell rang and everyone was assembled in the room, Seymour(in case you don't remember, he's their homeroom teacher) stood in the front of the room, arms extended like he wanted a hug.

"Class," He began with his monotone voice that made half the class immediately start snoozing, "I have a surprise for you all," At 'surprise' the dozing people jerked awake, "And this surprise is another new student!"

Whispers began to form among the students, whispering about why there were so many transfer students and whether this new student was a girl or boy, where they came from, and etc...

And then, the new student came in with an air that seemed to blow everyone away. She had perfectly flattened red hair that shined like the sun and looked as soft as silk, a purse that must cost over two hundred dollars, designer flipflops which showed off her perfect pedicure, an outfit with matching dangling earrings, and she had just the right amount of make-up on so that it accented every feature of her face without making her look fake. As she brushed back her hair behind her ear, Sora noted that she had a flawless manicure. **'Wow,'** Sora said, breathless and having to hold his jaw up so his mouth wouldn't hang, **'She's a **_**doll!'**_

She then took a deep breath, glanced around the room with her pretty violet eyes(He could've _swore_ her gaze lingered on him a second longer than anyone else! (At this, Roxas spared a comment, not wanting to say that she showed no more interest in him than the next guy) ). After her inspection of the her new classmates, she gave a charming smile that would melt a heart of ice, "Hello. I'm Kairi Leonheart! I come from Destiny Islands; I moved to Twilight Town just a couple of days ago!"

After her introduction(which everyone was paying attention to), Seymour pointed to her seat which was near the door, and nowhere near his(or Olette's) seat.

After she took her seat, the door burst open which revealed Riku. "Late again, Almasy?" Seymour asked, raising his eyebrow slightly.

'_Almasy...huh, that rings a bell for some reason, but I can't put my finger on it. Anyway, he's late. Again.'_ Roxas commented, but Sora ignored him.

"Fangirls..." He muttered, and out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Kairi. He looked at her for a split second, then looked at Sora and mouthed, 'New girl?'

"That's understandable. Please take your seat before any of these," Seymour cleared his throat loudly, directing his attention to the giggly 'fangirls' in the back, "'fangirls' assault you." The white-haired kid quickly took his seat, and the ten interminable minutes that was homeroom commenced.

"Who's the new girl?" Riku asked, glancing over at her. She didn't seem to notice that she had attracted everyone's attention, and she was reading over what looked like a map. The white-haired teen seemed to be worried about whether she was a potential 'fangirl' or not.

Sora sighed dreamily, "The girl of my dreams..." then he snapped out of his dream world when he saw the grin on his best friend's face and quickly attempted to cover himself up, "I-I-I mean...Kairi! She's Kairi! Yeah, she's Kairi..."

"Go over and talk to her; everyone else seems too embarrassed or jealous to talk to her." Riku said. It was true, homeroom _**was **_deathly quiet(the type of silence where if you dropped a pencil it would sound like an explosion). Everyone was staring at the girl who was oblivious to it all; she must've thought silence was ordinary to homeroom.

"No way!" Sora whispered, shaking his head and turning to his sister, "Olette, you go ta--Olette!" He found that his sister's attention was not fixated on _Kairi_, but it was on someone else...someone more despicable, _Hayner._ Judging by his sister's expression, she was either jealous(which was impossible, Olette wasn't the jealous type) or awed that Hayner was staring at another girl other than herself.

Riku chuckled quietly, "Not even you sister can save you now, Sora...how about this: If you go talk to her, I will..."

"...go knock on every one of your fangirl's doors and tell them that you love them." Sora said, pleased with the look of horror on Riku's face.

"Deal..." He said grudgingly, shaking hands as a seal to the deal. Sora gulped and got up from his seat, crossing over the classroom as everyone's eyes followed him like they were training to be professional stalkers. It was unnerving, but everytime Sora hesitated and wanted to go back, he'd feel a push that was Roxas.

Finally, he stood in front of her desk. Kairi didn't notice, and was busy looking at the map of the school. Sora took a deep breath and said, "...Hi!" He tried not to look at the twenty-eight other pairs of eyes that were now locked on him and the most beautiful girl in the world.(In Sora's opinion, anyway. Roxas _begged_ to differ)

That was when their eyes met. She blinked, before replying, "Hello!" cheerily. She continued to stare at him as she waited for Sora to reply.

'_SORA! Say something before I say something for you!'_ Roxas yelled, and that brought Sora back into the real world.

"I-I'm Sora." He said, holding out his hand for Kairi to shake, forgetting what was coming next.

"Ah, Sora! Friend of Ven, correct?" She asked, standing up. The brunette nodded, and she smiled. "It is so nice to meet you!" Kairi said, leaning forward and instead of shaking his hand, she kissed him on the cheek!

The Sora fangirls(though not as abundant as the common Riku fangirls, there were some) gasped and hoped that their murderous glares would stab Kairi over and over again until she died a painful death.

Sora turned red, and was about to open his mouth to say something, when he got run over by guys who were all introducing themselves to Kairi. The brunette got pushed out of the small mob, and looked over the pitiful bunch of males. Luckily, Riku was not assembled there, but Hayner was!

'_**I can't believe him!'**_ Both Sora and Roxas raged, Sora quickly glancing over at Olette who was busy copying notes or something school-related. He grabbed Hayner's collar and dragged him out of the group. The blonde turned around, poised and ready to fight. However, he dropped his raised fist and blinked.

"Sora?" Hayner asked, raising an eyebrow, "Why are--"

"I can't believe you!" Sora growled, trying to stay calm, "You have the audacity to flirt with **my sister,** who I care about very much unlike _**you, **_and**_ you_** want a kiss from Kairi! Well, I swear, if Olette _**ever**_ cries over--"

"Woah, woah, calm down, Sora. Take a chill pill." Hayner said, holding up his hands as if to stop Sora from ramming him down. "I'm just trying to be friendly to Kira. I'm trying to be nice and make her feel welcome, alright?"

"It's _Kairi._" Sora said, taking Roxas' advice when the angel told him to back off.

'_Seriously, I am __this__ close to burning the guy to a crisp.'_ Roxas mumbled, and Sora couldn't blame him. If Olette ever noticed, she'd be heartbroken!

He walked back to his seat and sat down, glancing over at the group of guys and shaking his head. Then, Sora turned to Riku(since Olette was busy recopying notes or something)and asked, "Hey, Riku, how come you've been late to homeroom the last couple of days?"

"Fangirls." The white-haired kid said, avoiding Sora's gaze which the brunette thought was really weird.

'_He's lying.'_ Roxas stated matter-of-factly.

'**Riku wouldn't lie to me! Even if he was, what other reason could he have for being late?'** Sora asked, nodding to Riku's answer. It seemed reasonable.

'_Sora, I don't know if you can tell or not, but angels can tell when someone is lying.' _Roxas said. Sora just rolled his eyes and shrugged.

"It must be rough having fangirls, huh?"Sora asked, looking over at the girls which were obsessed with his best friend. Some, unbeknownst to the brunette, were secretly obsessing over him, too. Sora did have his fair share of fangirls, they were just more...rare.

"Like you don't have them. You are the star of Track and Field--"

"But you're the MVP for Blitzball. And that's all the rage these days. All the girls love it!" Sora said, then sighed and his eyes got a dreamy look in them, "And besides...the cheerleaders that cheer for us on games are _sooo_ hot!"

"Sora!" He heard his sister say sharply, slapping him in the shoulder. Before Sora got to state his defense, the bell rang and the class was dismissed.

-

It was History class. Riku and Hayner were nowhere to be found, which was odd. But, fortunately, Kairi was in that class, and she sat right next to Sora!(How much better could his life get, seriously? (And then Roxas mumbled about how he needed to_** get **_a life) )

Then, their teacher strolled on in. "Let me take attendance before anyone goes anywhere! Okay...Riku Almasy?" He read off the list, scanning the class with his one eye.

"Uh, he transferred out." Another kid said. "And so did Hayner Katsurada."

'_Riku and Hayner transferred out of this class?...'_ Roxas then mumbled something incoherent that Sora didn't try to catch.

Gippal sighed, reading off a couple of more names with the following 'here's that followed, before stopping. "Sora Hikari?" He asked, and Sora raised his hand and said, 'Present and accounted for!' Gippal stared at him for a very long time before mumbling something and turning back to the attendance list. He kept listing the names until one name came up.

"Um...that kid...he died. He drank some of your fruit punch and he died when he got home. He had a heart attack. I'm his neighbor, so I know..." One student said.

Gippal sighed again, "This is why you _**don't**_ drink stuff when you don't know what it is! It's specially modified fruit punch. Not. For. Kids. I don't want to see anyone else even THINK about taking a sip of my fruit punch again. Got it?"

After Olette and Sora exchanged glances, they nodded along with the rest of their classmates. "Good," Their teacher said, walking over to one of the rows, "Now, everyone, pass up your essays. Except for you, Miss Leonheart. You are excused for two weeks worth of work. After that, I expect you to be caught up." Kairi nodded her head to show she understood.

After everyone passed their papers up and to Gippal, they sat quietly while he placed them on a desk and then wrote one number on the board. "Can anyone tell me what number this is?" He asked. No one rose their hand. "Mr. Hikari, what about you? What number is this?" Gippal pointed a ruler at the number he wrote in the middle of the blackboard.

"Um...the number thirteen." Sora said, and Gippal nodded.

"Correct. Does anyone know WHY the number thirteen is so important in the history of Twilight Town?" He asked, and Kairi raised her hand. "Miss Leonheart?"

"The Organization XIII was what caused the downfall of the Kingdom of Tsugare, which is Twilight Town today. I've read in books that schools in Twilight Town have off on every Friday the Thirteenth because the number thirteen is taboo in Twilight Town, right?" Kairi questioned, and Gippal nodded.

"Correct. Can anyone tell Miss Leonheart why the number thirteen is not liked in Twilight Town? There were twelve other members in this Organization, right? What makes thirteen so special?" He said, looking specifically at Sora, which made him feel uncomfortable.

'**It's like...he ****knows**** or something! Wait, Roxas, what number were you in the Organization? You were in it, right?'** Sora asked. The blonde angel sighed.

'_Thirteen.'_

'**If this conversation is going to be hard on you, you should go to sleep.'** Sora suggested. He didn't hear a reply, so Roxas must've taken his advice. Their teacher looked at Olette who had her hand raised, and called on her.

She then said, "Well...I think it was the thirteenth member, Roxas, who actually did all the dirty work. They say, well..." Olette shifted in her seat, not really wanting to answer his question anymore. If she did, she had a feeling she'd feel like a traitor afterwards.

"So, no one knows what Roxas did, huh? No one knows what the thirteenth member did to poor Princess Naminé?" Gippal looked around the room, seeing all downcast faces. They all knew, no one wanted to say it. "Well, I'll tell you. Roxas _seduced_ her and she eventually fell in love with him. Then, she gradually trusted the whole Organization, unknowing of it's true cause. When Byakuya, present day Traverse Town, invaded the capital of Tsugare, Princess Naminé took refuge. Only Roxas knew where she was. He sold her out to Vayne because he had hated her all along."

"But I heard," Sora spoke up, not wanting his alter ego to be trashed like this, "That he really _did_ love her. Maybe he sold her out because he was afraid of being shunned by the Organization, the only people who would accept him. I heard...I heard that before the Princess died, Roxas swore to her that he would watch over Tsugare for the rest of his life. That's why we have a Guardian Angel named Roxas, right?" Of course, Sora made the whole thing completely up from the top of his head. But it was better than to listen to this hearsay. Sora felt he had an obligation to say something in Roxas' defense.

Gippal rose an eyebrow, "Interesting. What makes you think that, Mr.Hikari?"

"Um...I read it in a book once." Sora lied.

"I see." Their teacher then took out the 'fruit punch' and drank some of it, twisting the cap back on but keeping it in his hand. "Can I talk to you outside, Mr.Hikari? The rest of you can get working on your textbook homework." Gippal wrote some page numbers on the board and then walked outside of the room along with the 'fruit punch'. Sora glanced at Olette, who shrugged and mouthed 'Go!'.

Sora stood up and walked out of the classroom. "So, how's he doing?" Gippal asked. Sora pretended he didn't know who he was talking. "...How's _**Roxas**_ doing?" The blonde clarified.

"Um...I'm not familiar with--" The brunette started, and Gippal closed the door to the classroom.

"Don't lie. He's in there. I don't know where, but he's in there. So, how is he doing?" He asked, taking a drink of the angel blood in his bottle.

"How do you know about...um...us?" Sora asked, flushing slightly. Saying 'us' kind of sounded like they were an 'item'...and that would be just...**no.**That wouldn't even be possible, and even if it were...just, _**no.**_ He mentally slapped himself for well...

Gippal rose an eyebrow, "You _**don't**_ know who I am? You _**know**_ this is angel blood, right?" He asked, shaking the bottle in front of Sora's face.

"Yes, I know. Well, I assume you're some kind of bad guy. Roxas is an angel...and here you are, a vampire to all angels. So, back off. I know how to play blitzball and can run really fast." Sora threatened, as if shooting a blitzball at him would actually **hurt.**

"I'm the..." Gippal glanced around, no one was in the hearing range of their conversation, "...Prince of Demons. You know, the Devil's son. Well, I'm drinking this angel blood because it's powerful enough that it negates my demonic powers. For example, if I were to come in contact with a human such as yourself, I would kill you on contact. I would turn Roxas into a fallen angel on contact. But, if I drink this angel blood, that won't happen. I'm temporarily human, so to speak."

"That makes sense. I guess." Sora rubbed his head, not really getting it. But he wasn't about to admit it, because then Gippal would probably laugh at his stupidity, "So, how do you know Roxas? If you're from Hell, shouldn't you guys be enemies?"

"It is a really long story." He sighed.

"That's what you _**all**_ say!" Sora mumbled, shaking his head. Roxas always said it, his mother, father, and Tifa always said it...that was the excuse for _**everyone!**_

"But don't worry, we're allies. So, how is he doing?"

"Well..." Sora looked his teacher up and down. He seemed to be telling the truth, "He's asleep, but he's hurting right now."

"Hurting?" Gippal questioned. Sora nodded.

"Hurting. I think the way his name has been _**slandered**_," He glared at the eyepatched blonde, "among all these lies has really been getting to him. I can feel his pain." Sora then placed his hand over his heart, "Right here is where Roxas is hurting."

"His heart...?" Gippal rose an eyebrow, then chuckled, "How ironic. He can't feel, yet his _**heart**_ is _**hurting.**_ Huh. Go figure."

'_He can't feel?'_ Sora thought, _'What does that mean?'_ Before Sora got to verbalize this question, Gippal opened the door to the classroom and walked back inside. Sora followed suit and took his seat beside Kairi.

But what Gippal said really had made him confused. _'Angels can feel, can't they?'_

-

After returning from Blitzball practice(they had a big game this weekend!), Sora was safe and sound at home with all of his family except for Cloud assembled in the living room.

"Hey, Mom, Tifa, Olette...I'm going to Riku's house. We made a bet and I need to make sure he does his part!" Sora said, running off before anyone could stop him.

He sprinted to his best friend's house and made it there in record time. He knocked on the door, and Riku answered it. The silver-haired boy sighed, "Mom, I'm going out! I'll be back in a while!" He walked outside and shut the door. "Hey, Sora, what's up?"

"You know, walking around to all of your fangirls and telling them you love them." Sora grinned, and Riku sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"I did you a favor, and this is how you treat me? Well, I guess we did make a deal." Riku mumbled, "Time for fangirl number one." He walked next door(Sora following) and knocked on the door.

"O. M. G, GIRLS! LOOK WHO IT IS!" The girl who answered the door yelled. Ten other girls came to the door and started to squeal, drool, and all that other fangirl stuff.

"..." Riku sighed, glancing back at Sora who could hardly contain the laughter, "I love you all."

"_**RIKU SAID HE LOVED US!"**_ The girls screamed _**so**_ loud that the ground shook. The girls then tackled him. Sora was worried for a moment, he didn't see his friend _**anywhere**_ and somehow, more and more girls started to appear. It was like these girls were bloodhounds or had radars attached to them or could magically sense Riku wherever he was. Or something like that.

Sora took a deep breath, and ran right into the fray, yelling, "CHAAAAAAAAARGE!"

-

One hour later found Sora and Riku shirtless in front of the train station. Do not ask why they were there. There were red lip marks all over their faces, and Sora sported a nasty black eye. Riku had half of his hair tied up into a ponytail, the other half was a braid.(Somehow the fangirls managed to tame his hair) Every one of Sora's spikes had ribbons tied on it. Luckily, they had managed to escape before the fangirls applied the dreaded -shudder- make-up.

"Sora?"

"Yeah?"

"Never bet me to do that again."

"Gotcha."

-

Another hour later, and Sora and Riku, now with shirts on, were walking around Twilight Town. They had removed the lipstick from their faces, had fixed their hair, and Sora had cover-up over his black eye so people wouldn't make fun of it. (He made a note to himself to never get between an insane fangirl and Riku ever again)

Sora would have been flying around Twilight Town around this time, but Roxas hadn't contacted him since he had gone to sleep and when Roxas was in a deep sleep such as this, it was better for everyone if Sora left him alone. Twilight Town would be okay without it's Guardian for one night, right?

As they were walking around Twilight Town, they saw Kairi roller skating around. She was doing different tricks and stuff with her roller blades, and she was quite talented at it.

"Go talk to her." Riku whispered, pushing Sora forward.

"N-No way! She seems to be really busy roller skating! I can't disturb her!" Sora whispered back, taking a couple of steps back.

"I had my shirt ripped off and got kissed by vicious fangirls. Sora, I think you can afford to talk to _**one**_ girl." Riku replied, practically throwing Sora towards her. The brunette sighed, knowing he was right.

"Hi!" Sora said cheerily, from behind Kairi. The girl turned around, blinking. She flushed, and waved.

"Um...hi. Were you...were you watching me?" Kairi stuttered, seeming embarrassed. Sora nodded, and her face turned a shade of red not yet known to man.

"You were really good. You like roller skating?" Sora asked, making a mental note to get into roller skating later. He could imagine him and Kairi roller skating off into the sunset already...

"No." Kairi answered bluntly. Sora was brought back into reality with this sharp reply. She didn't like roller skating? Then whatever was she DOING it for? "Roller skating is practice for my ice skating. There isn't an ice rink in Twilight Town, so it's hard to practice ice skating any other way. Of course, then this gets into my cheerleading practices, and then I'm a teacher at a dance studio...I'm sorry," She apologized, her face fading back into that pink, "I'm rambling, aren't I?"

Sora nodded his head, "Yeah, but it's okay. You're cute when you ramble." He smiled, then turned red when he realized what he said. _'Agh! I did __**not**__ just call Kairi cute! I'm such a dofus!'_ He thought, _'But score! She's a cheerleader! Certainly she'll see me at the blitzball game on Saturday and be awed at my skill and immediately fall madly in love!' _

"Oh, that reminds me. Who's that behind you?" Kairi smoothly changed the subject, nodding her head towards the silver-haired teen who was busy looking off into the distance, probably daydreaming about who knows what.

"Riku!" Sora called, "Get over here and introduce yourself!" Riku blinked, and walked over to Kairi.

"Riku Almasy." He said quietly, nodding his head.

"I'm Kairi Leonheart!" She said, smiling brightly. Sora melted at that smile, although her attention was not on him. He was kind of glad it wasn't, because a puddle of hormones is just _**soooo**_ attractive.

"Leonheart?" Riku looked surprised, "Leonheart? Daughter of Squall Leonheart? _**That**_ Leonheart?" Kairi nodded, and before she got to ask what was wrong, he continued, "I'm sorry for your father's death. I really am..."

'_Hey, wait!'_ Sora thought, _'How does Riku know about Kairi's father dying?!?'_

Before either could ask questions about Riku's knowledge, little black ant-like creatures popped up from the ground. A weapon(it looked like a keyblade, but somehow it didn't emit the 'angelic aura' feeling) magically appeared in Riku's hands, "Dammit! They're here!" He said, slashing away at the creatures.

"What's here?!?" Kairi exclaimed, skating behind Sora, who, quite frankly, didn't know what to do.

"The Heartless!" Riku answered. Sora's eyes widened and he practically choked on the air he was breathing.

"**HEARTLESS?!?**"

* * *

OH NOEZ! THE HEARTLESS ARE COMING, THE HEARTLESS ARE COMING!! 

Ergh, if I question anything for this chapter, I will spoil EVERYTHING. So I will refrain from doing so. But I will ask you guys to share your predictions with me. :D

Oh, that reminds me. The upcoming chapters may or may not be confusing and 'too much happening at once...my head is spinning!' because I am a disorganized mess. I really need a notebook to organize my thoughts...but my notebook died when Ciel(twin sister for those of you who don't know) took it. I got it back days later with gossip written all over it. -.-

But they may also be confusing because of people's behavior(i.e. some of you questioned why Hayner and Riku were mean to each other and then were 'best friends'). But BELIEVE me, when you find out _why_ everyone's been acting strangely, it will all click into place. And if it doesn't...then I'll tell you why! M'kay?


	4. Hyalopterus and Luciferous Angel

Thanks to SagaLight, Yami no Nalix, Sweeteen19, imcalledkitty, Edo23, lebrezie, kingdomfantasyanime453, Ellie, kinmoku2, Random, Orika, ArwenEvenstar83, and all of you anonymous readers!

Note: Just to let those of you who have not played whatever FF Cloud was in, Zack was Cloud's friend in that soldier group...or something along those lines...at least, I think so. I haven't actually played it myself... x.x So, no OCs in this story. :D

_**Disclaimer:**_ I don't own Juicy(if I did I'd be friking RICH), SpongeBob, or any of the KH characters or anything else...I don't even completely own the plot.

_Roxas' thought to Sora/Olette_

**Sora's thoughts to Roxas**

_**Two Heads are Better than one, right? (Thinking something together)**_

Angels in Flight: Eien no Tobira

Chapter 39/4: **H**yalopterous and Luciferous Angel

'**Roxas?!? Roxas, are you there? I kinda need your help, Roxas!'** Sora panicked, trying to keep the Heartless away from Kairi with his trusty blitzball he still had on him from practice. "Riku, what _**are**_ these things?" He asked. Roxas had told him something about them once, but they would just not die.

Of course, Riku was creaming the things with his keyblade. _'That's it!'_ Sora thought, _'I need a keyblade so I can protect Kairi! Roxas has a keyblade or six, doesn't he?'_

"I'll tell you later." The silver-haired teen mumbled, slashing away at the ant-like creatures. Sora looked behind him, to see Kairi staring at an unnaturally big Heartless. It lunged after her, and she screamed. Sora ran in between the Heartless and Kairi, the only thing in between him and the Heartless now being the blitzball. **'Roxas!! Are you there?!? I need your help, Roxas! I have to protect Kairi!'** Sora yelled in his head. Just as the Heartless smacked the blitzball out of the way and was about to attack...

_The will of the Second Angel shall awaken...now, resound! _

The first thought Sora had was, **'Roxas? You ARE there! Help me out!'** . Then, a flash of light enveloped the area. When the light had disappeared, all the Heartless had been obliterated and Sora's beloved blitzball was gone, and in it's place was a silver keyblade. **'Thanks, bro.'** He said, marveling over the keyblade in his hand. He didn't think much of it; he assumed it was one of Roxas'.

"Thank you so much, Sora!" Kairi shouted, hugging him briefly. He laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his head.

"Hehe, no problem..." He said, then turned to Riku, who was staring at them. "Riku, what were they and what did they come here for?" _'I mean, I remember Roxas telling me about them once...but I've seem to have forgetten...'_ Sora thought, then shook his head.

"They were agents of darkness. They mistook Kairi for someone else, which is why they attacked us." Riku said, crossing his arms as his keyblade disappeared.

"How do you know all this stuff, Riku?" Kairi asked quietly, seeming a bit shaken up. She glanced around nervously, and skated closer to the guys. "Riku?" she repeated, skating closer to him. However, he moved away from her, so she felt dejected and slowly skated back to Sora.

"What I'm more worried about is that voice I heard before the flash." Riku said, boring his eyes into Sora's, which made him really uncomfortable.

'**Roxas, I think he DOES know about you and me!' **Sora shouted. But how did Riku hear Roxas...they only contacted each other in their minds...unless Riku was...

"Me too." Kairi spoke up, "What was with that whole 'Second Angel' stuff? Also...the voice sounded kind of familiar..." They both looked at Sora expectantly.

"Hey, I have no more of an idea than you guys do! What makes you think I know anything about this?" Sora asked, backing up slightly, **'Roxas! What was the whole deal with that message, anyway? Do you have a speaker or something that can just turn on that I don't know about?**' No response. **'ROXAS!!!'**

There was a silence between the trio before Kairi turned to Riku and said, "Riku...they said they were after me because they mistook me for someone else. Will they come after me again?"

"No, they won't." He shook his head. "They know now you aren't her."

"Her? Who did they mistake Kairi for? How do you know all this, Riku?" Sora asked curiously, scratching his head. He didn't know why Riku would be so knowledgeable about these types of things...and why he even wielded a **keyblade**.

"...I don't know that much. I only know what I know because it's information that's been passed down through my family." Riku shrugged, and then looked at the time on the big clock tower that loomed ominously over Twilight Town, "I have to go now. I will see you guys tomorrow, alright?"

"See ya!"

"Later!"

They waved at their silver-haired friend, watching him walk away until he disappeared into the twilight. Sora(the silver keyblade disappearing) turned back towards Kairi after Riku was no longer in sight.

It was just them..._**alone.**_ With **no one** around. Just them..._**together.**_ _Alone_

"Sora, can I ask you a question?" Kairi asked abruptly, breaking him out of whatever thoughts he was having about him and Kairi being alone together. Which were probably good thoughts anyway, because if you knew anything about Sora it was that he was a good boy.

"Huh?" He blinked, processing her question and then answering, "Oh yeah, sure. What is it, Kai?" He wanted to take back his words as soon as they left his mouth. _'I'm using the affectionate nicknames already, and she's only known me for a day! I am so stupid!'_ He then continued to admonish himself afterwards.

Kairi giggled, "Do you think it would be weird if I asked you to meet my mom?"

"H-h-huh? W-WHA...W-WHAT?" Sora spluttered, in awe that she had just asked him that. She turned stark red and shook her head vigorously, shaking her hands as well.

"No, no, no, no, no!" She said quickly, "Y-You've got it all wrong, Sora! I don't want you to meet my mother for that reason, I don't really like you that way! (_'Ouch...'_ Sora thought, _'Did she have to say it like that?'_) My mother is a hairdresser, and you have very unique hair. She'd love to see it."

"Oh...I see..." Sora said, feeling awkward as he rubbed the back of his head. Of course, he knew that he had wacky hair--and the fact that it was all natural made it even weirder. The last time he had actually tried to _straighten_ his hair(with help from Olette, of course) turned into a disaster and made him look like a pancake-esque Rock star.

"So?" Kairi tilted her head and laced her hands behind her back, looking up at him.

Sora, not wanting to show his disappointment('Sorrow is contagious!' Aerith had always told him when he was sad, 'But so is your smile! Okay, Sora?'), smiled cheerfully and linked arms with the girl, "Off to the yellow brick road we go!" He said in a sing-song voice.

Kairi giggled, singing along with him, "We're off to see the hairdresser, the wonderful hairdresser of Twilight Town! Because, because, because, because..." She was alarmed by Sora's...childness. Would normal sixteen-year-olds go skipping(skating in Kairi's case) off into the horizon(literally) singing a song from a play? Most certainly not. Well, in all actuality, they may be crazy enough to do such a thing but without accusations of being on drugs? Nope, never. Kairi _**would**_ have felt embarrassed if she were doing this with someone else, but somehow she did not care around Sora. There were just some people in the world that had that kind of air where if you acted your silliest, you'd feel comfortable around them, _**plus**_ they'd still manage to look goofier than you even if you ran around in your underwear singing SpongeBob SquarePants' theme song.

After around ten minutes, Kairi reached a small little house wedged in between other homes of various sizes. She let go of Sora's arm and reached into her pocket, fishing out a pair of keys which she then fiddled around with until she found the right one. After opening the door to the home, she skated inside. "I'm home!" She shouted, pulling Sora inside the home.

Either the floor was poorly built or the house may have been built on a slant, because Sora felt a little off balance in the small place. Some of the plaster on the walls had broken off, revealing the boards underneath.

He followed the auburn-haired girl as she skated into the tiny kitchen, which only had room for a few cabinets, a sink, some drawers, a counter, and an oven. By the way the cabinets looked, Sora could easily estimate that this house was at least a hundred or so years old. Which would explain the poor construction and why it looked like a simple breeze would cause the obliteration of this home.

"Oh, good!" In came Kairi's mother, who looked a lot more lively than when Sora had seen her at the church.

"Mom, this is my friend Sora. Sora, this is my mom." Kairi introduced them, Sora bowing because he wanted to _really_ impress Ms. Leonheart.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Sora!" Rinoa said, doing the Destiny Islands tradition of kissing-on-the cheek(Sora made a mental note to go there one day). After the introductions were complete, Kairi took the liberty to say something.

"Mom, look at Sora's hair." She said. Rinoa stared at his hair for a moment. _'Come on,_' Sora thought, _'They're acting like it's a masterpiece!'_

"Hmm." Rinoa rubbed her chin in thought, circling around him, "You do indeed have very...unique hair. What product do you use?"

"Product?...Uh..." Sora didn't know what she meant exactly, "I use shampoo..." Both of the females burst into laughter at this response, which, in turn, colored Sora's cheeks pink.

"She meant what kind of hair gel you use to make your hair spike like that." Kairi said, flicking one of his spikes which caused it to bounce up and down like a spring. That made her laugh, "Your hair would make great entertainment for children."

By the way she said it, he couldn't tell whether it was a good or bad thing. But he assumed it was a good thing by the look on her face. "Actually, it's all natural."

They both gasped as if Juicy Couture had just declared that it was uncool to _breathe. _"NATURAL?!?" They exclaimed, and then looked at each other for a long period of time before staring back at Sora, who, quite frankly, remembered a situation quite like this except it included the odd behaviors of giggly girls. Usually, the way of the fangirl(as Sora and Riku had learned on their excursions throughout Twilight Town) was to either gasp and attack immediately, stalk them, OR stare at them for about a half hour or so then wait until one of them asks what the heck is wrong with them and THEN attack.

"Y-Yeah..." He stuttered, backing away slowly, relieved that they didn't move closer to him when they did so, "...It's one hundred percent natural. Well, actually, it's genetics. All of the males on the paternal side of my family have spiky hair." It was true. Cloud had spiky hair, and Cloud had told him that his father and the fathers before him all had spiky hair. I guess it was that one trait that really defined the Hikaris.

"Genetics?...Does your father, by chance, have spiky blonde hair? Married to a pretty brunette with vivid green eyes?" Rinoa asked, a hopeful look shining in her eyes.

Sora nodded slowly, "Yeah. My father's name is Cloud, my mother is Aerith Str--"

"Oh, I could tell! You look remarkably like your father!" Rinoa exclaimed, hugging Sora so tightly it was constricting his lungs. However, he didn't want to be rude so he put up with his loss of breath.

Kairi, noticing that his face was turning a blueberry blue, pried her mother away from the poor boy. "Mom, how do you know his parents?" She questioned, tilting her head slightly.

"Aerith, Cloud, Squall, this other person named Zack and I were all the best of friends since Preschool. Most say that friends often separate and go their own ways, but we were inseparable until Zack moved to Traverse Town, and Cloud and Aerith moved to Twilight Town. Squall and I stayed in our hometown of Destiny Islands." Rinoa explained.

"Daddy..." At the mention of her father's name, Kairi sobbed silently, shaking more and more with each tear. Sora felt terrible, he wanted to comfort her in some way but he knew that would be really awkward form someone she had just met, so he refrained from doing so.

"Kairi, why don't you go upstairs, dear." Rinoa said, ruffling Kairi's hair affectionately, "I need to talk to Sora, I'll come talk to you after we're done chatting, okay?" The girl nodded and ran upstairs. When Kairi was out of their vicinity, Rinoa turned to Sora with a serious look on her face. "You don't have any older brothers, right?"

"Yeah," Sora debated on whether to tell her if Olette was his biological sister or not. He decided to do it, since she seemed pretty trustworthy and she knew his parents, "I have a sister who is...two minutes younger, I believe. Her name is Olette."

"So then, you obviously inherited 'Ven Highwind'," She used air quotes while she said the name Roxas used, "right?"

Sora looked surprised. "Wait, so you know that Ven was me the whole time? And you know Ven's not actually Ven?"

Rinoa chuckled, "I was one of Cloud's best friends. I, ever the secret-keeper, was the first person he consulted to, because he was debating when to tell Aerith about it and needed my advice. He told me about everything...about Roxas and his dedication to Nadiné, everything..."

"Actually, I believe it was Nadine, not Nadiné." Sora mused, then said, "So...if you're dad's best friend, then how come I've never met Kairi? I mean, I've met Uncle Zack thirty-billion times. He comes over for the holidays all the time." Sora said, crossing his arms. That was one of the few people outside the family that knew of their secret.

"Unlike me, Kairi cannot keep a secret for more than an hour. If you two were friends, eventually the secret would come out, and Kairi would probably spill it." Rinoa explained. Sora nodded in understanding. "Oh, before you go, there's something you need to know about your father..."

Sora gulped, not liking the tone she was using. He had a feeling there was going to be some and news, so he steeled himself for it.

"You or Roxas may not take to this information kindly. Are you both ready for it?" She asked.

"Well, Roxas is asleep, but I am as ready as ready can be!" Sora chirped, only receiving an odd look from Ms. Leonheart.

"Asleep? He can fall asleep...?" Rinoa asked, tilting her head slightly and crossing her arms.

"Of course! I've been receiving all kinds of weird questions today. Like if he could feel..." Sora laughed to himself and shook his head.

"But..." She started, then shook her head, "If Cloud hasn't told you, I shouldn't be the one to break in the news. Anyway, about your father...you heard that Squall...my husband, died, yes?"

"I'm sorry for your loss..." Sora sighed, frowning. He had not really dealt with death before; both pairs of his grandparents had died before he was born.

Rinoa smiled brightly, glad that he was at least respectful. "It's alright. You see...what happened...Heartless attacked our home. Squall of course, had the obligation to protect both Kairi and I...I fought too, but..." she sighed, brushing some hair behind her ear, "...What happened was that the Heartless outnumbered us by a very large amount. Squall and I couldn't protect Kairi by ourselves. As if God had sent them, Cloud and Zack appeared to help us. Squall told me to take Kairi and get out of there. Cloud, Squall and Zack make an especially formidable team...neither of the three goes down easy. They're as tough as nails. As we left, a blonde man came out of the sea of Heartless. He had ice cold blue eyes and wielded the same weapon as Squall--a gunblade; it was just a different model. As Kairi and I left, we both saw them strike each other...Squall leaving a scar on the blonde's face and..." Rinoa closed her eyes, unable to continue.

"I understand." Sora said, gulping, "So you're saying...that..."

"Yes. Though it's not confirmed...we're not sure whether Cloud and Zack have come back yet. It's been almost five days and no sign of them, so I..." She smiled sadly, and Sora returned the enthusiasm. She glanced at the clock, then ushering Sora out of the home, "You should get going...but if you hear any news..."

Sora nodded, promising Ms.Leonheart she'd be the first to know if he found out anything. As he walked home, he tried to contact Roxas again, wanting to ask him about the ominous message and to thank him for giving him the keyblade...and about the Heartless! **'Hey, Roxas. You there?'**

'_...Reboot complete. All systems online.'_ Sora raised his eyebrow at what his partner said. 'All systems online'? He sounded like a robot! Which was preposterous, Roxas was an _angel._ And angels weren't _robots._ Unless he was a mechanical angel, which was just...not a possibility. _'What do you WANT from my life, Sora?'_ Roxas moaned, and by the tone of his voice, you could tell he was irritated.

'**I have a LOT of things to ask you since you've been asleep. Okay, how come when the Heartless attacked--'** Sora started, but Roxas cut him off.

'_HEARTLESS?!? In Twilight Town? Heartless would never attack Twilight Town; they know I'm here!'_ Well, it was safe to say Roxas was not asleep now.

'**It's probably because you've been snoozing for so long. Anyway, what was up with that whole weird message that Kairi and Riku could hear?'** Sora asked, making it to the train station where he then had to take the train to get back to his house.

'_What are you talking about? I was never awake for the Heartless attack or whatever. Did anyone get harmed; who was there, how did you do?'_ Roxas asked, sounding semi-concerned. The other part of his tone was annoyance, probably because he was itching for some action. Two thousand years of inactivity(well, basically) really builds up energy.

'**Yes you were! You were the one that gave me that keyblade to protect Kairi, remember? God, know I now what Mom means when she says old people have bad memories!'** Sora grumbled, concentrated on their conversation too much to be paying attention to what the conductor of the train was yelling at him, and he missed the train.

'_Hey! I have a better memory than you! I can remember every memory from my life two thousand years ago vividly, while you cannot even remember your seventh birthday! And, anyway, I never gave you a keyblade to protect Kairi! I just woke up when you rudely yelled at me!'_ Roxas yelled back.

'**Yes, you did give me a keyblade!'**

'_No I did not!'_

'**Yes you did!'**

'_No I did not!'_

'**But it was YOUR voice that said it!'**

'_I didn't say anything!'_

'**Yes you did!'**

'_No I didn't! I know what I said because I know when I said it, and I didn't say anything!'_

'**Yes you did!'**

and they continued like that...alllll the way back to their peaceful adobe...

-

"Mom!! Tifa!!" Sora yelled, opening the door to their home, "Roxas is being mean to me!" He complained, like he often did when he was younger.

Tifa, Aerith, and Olette were assembled in the living room conversing in high-pitched tones which could only mean Olette was talking about _**boys**_ to them(after all, Tifa and Aerith wanted to be hip) which could only mean that **delinquent** was involved in that conversation. However, when Sora burst through the room, all three stopped talking.

"Why is he being mean?" Tifa asked.

"Because!" Sora said, "Riku and I were attacked by fangirls, right? And then we were wandering around and we found Kairi! So, we were all talking to each other when Heartless attacked!"

"HEARTLESS?!?" Both Tifa and Aerith exclaimed. Olette, not knowing what those were, remained calm.

"That's impossible! Heartless haven't attacked Twilight Town..._**nothing**_ demonic has ever attacked Twilight Town! Usually, they would just concentrate on us...but they ambushed you?" Tifa asked, her and Aerith exchanging worried glances.

Sora nodded, "Yeah. So I asked him for help because this olympian-sized Heartless was going to attack Kairi! So he told me something really weird...like, 'The will of the Second Angel is coming' or something, and then a keyblade appeared in place of my blitzball! It was really awesome, but both Kairi and Riku heard him say it, too!"

'_I was asleep during the whole thing!'_ Roxas yelled, _'This is unfair accusing! I never said anything, and I never gave him anything!'_

"Sora, have you ever thought that it wasn't Roxas who said anything? Can you summon the keyblade you're talking about by yourself?" Aerith asked.

"But it was Roxas' voice!" Sora said, then sighed and held out his hand. Not really knowing how to summon a keyblade, he just thought about protecting Kairi again. Lo and behold, the silver keyblade that had saved him from imminent doom earlier in his hand.

'_The Kingdom Key?!?'_ Roxas seem startled, _'That was lost a long, long time ago...Why has it shown up now?...'_

"Roxas is right, the Kingdom Key hasn't been in use in two thousand years..." Tifa mused, oblivious to the fact that Aerith was confused(remember, she can't hear Roxas like everyone else can) and Olette was trying to understand, but the conversation was going too fast for her to follow.

"What are you guys talking about? This isn't Roxas' keyblade? But only angels can wield keyblades! I'm not an angel!" Sora exclaimed, throwing the keyblade at the wall. However, it just disappeared and reappeared back in his hand. "I guess it is mine..."

"Which means that you have wings." Aerith commented, then smiled softly, "It's a miracle, it's nothing you should be ashamed about. To think that you inherited a trait from your great ancestor is unbelievable...I thought any angelic traits would have been washed out by now."

"Wings?" Sora repeated, eyes widening, "You mean like...flying?"

Tifa nodded, "Yes. You probably have another keyblade, too. Your other keyblade will come to you in time, Sora."

'_I told you it wasn't me!'_ Roxas said, huffing angrily.

"You should apologize, Sora." Olette, who had been quiet for the whole conversation, spoke up. "I'm kind of worried about those beings that Sora mentioned--Heartless? Will they attack again? What were they after?"

"Who was with you, Sora? How did you fend off the Heartless?" Tifa asked.

"Well, it was really weird. You see, Riku has a keyblade, too, and he began beating the things up. He seemed to know a lot about them, too. He said they were agents of darkness...and they attacked us because they mistook Kairi for some girl." Sora shrugged.

'_They mistook Kairi for some girl...?'_ Roxas mused aloud, then gasped. _'They mistook her for Naminé!'_

"How can you be so sure?" Olette asked, tilting her head slightly at Roxas' confidence. He seemed absolutely positive that Kairi was mistaken for Naminé.

'_Think about it. Back in the day, Umiri, who was replaced by past Kairi, was the Seventh Princess of Heart. When past Kairi died, Naminé took her place to balance out light and darkness. When Seifer died...or...hibernated, it was when Naminé was the Seventh Princess of Heart, so he and his minions, the Heartless, think that Naminé's reincarnate is still the Seventh Princess of Heart. So, when present-day Kairi came around, it was only natural for her to assume the position she had in her past life. Obviously the Heartless attacked her because they thought she was Naminé.' _Roxas finished, happy with his explanation.

Sora scratched his head again, "But why would Seifer want to attack Naminé in the first place?"

'_Because_ _Seifer 'loved' her. He probably wants her reincarnation because it's most likely that the reincarnation doesn't remember anything...Therefore he can officially 'marry' her this time around. Last time...'_ Roxas trailed off with a bitter tone in his voice, sighing.

"So this evil Lord of Darkness is back, along with the Heartless? Then I guess it makes sense as to why Heartless have only recently started attacking." Sora said, sighing along with his counterpart, "Wait!" Sora then remembered what Rinoa told him, "So then the guy that killed Squall was Seifer?!?"

The girls looked alarmed. "Sora, how did you know?" Tifa asked, seeming bewildered that he had found out their 'secret'.

"We tried as best as possible to keep it a secret from you..." Aerith frowned, placing her hands in her lap.

"Wow, I never guessed that SORA would perceive this." Olette mumbled, and Sora sent an angry glare to his sister, who just returned it.

"Rinoa told me. She told me that Uncle Zack, you, father, and her were all best friends when you were younger, but when you all moved you kinda lost connection. And then she said that her home got attacked by Heartless, and father and Uncle Zack appeared and that's when Rinoa said she saw a blonde guy appear from the sea of darkness and kill Squall..." Sora sighed sadly, about to continue when Roxas interrupted.

'_Blonde guy?!? That has to be Seifer. Okay, he is definitely back and looking for Naminé, which must mean she's alive. If he finds her first, I might as well kiss my only chance with reuniting with her goodbye...'_ Roxas said, sighing as well.

"So, we better keep a sharp lookout for her! Right, Roxas?" Olette smiled, wondering what the girl looked like. Or maybe she didn't look the same. Or maybe she did, but just had a different name. It was like looking through a stack of needles for a single strand of black hair.

'_Right...'_

-

The next day at school, Sora chatted up a storm between him and Kairi during homeroom. They had a really good connection.(Surprisingly) He had learned that Kairi loved to cheer/watch Blitzball games, and Blitzball players were her favorite. Sora exaggerated a _**teeny**_ bit, saying that he was the focal point of the whole team. He also made sure she knew he was the star of the Track team and one of the fastest runners in the entire school(which was no lie, Sora was _**fast**_ when he wanted to be). What he learned about her was that she loved to dance/cheerlead, she had made the Varsity cheerleading team in Twilight Town, she taught little kids ballet at a dance studio, and she also ice skated. When she had leisurely time, she helped her mother at the hair salon she worked at. Talk about a social butterfly!

While talking to Kairi, Sora made sure that Olette wasn't talking to anybody suspicious, either. She was talking to Penelo about the wonders of Marine Biology, and Sora saw her steal glances at Hayner who was talking to Pence. Knowing that nothing could be done, Sora resumed talking to Kairi.

Then, the door burst open revealing none other than Riku!

Seymour sighed, "Is this going to be daily routine, Almasy? Just because you have a 'fangirl' problem does not mean I can excuse you from being late every day!"

Riku didn't say anything as he took his seat. Sora glanced at his best friend, and then shook his head, turning his attention back to Kairi, who was telling him about a stunting accident in cheerleading once where she broke her ankle.

'_You know, I don't see what's so great about cheerleaders. They're so vain.'_ Roxas commented bluntly.

'**Shut up! Kairi's not like that! Besides, what do you know?!? You probably didn't even attend school back then!'** Sora snapped, offended that Roxas was talking about Kairi that way. He was sure his alter ego would not appreciate it if he talked bad about Naminé, right? So it was only fair to give respect both ways.

'_You're right. I'm sorry.' _He said half-heartedly, as if he really didn't mean his apology. Sora didn't want to waste time arguing with Roxas, so once more, he fixated his attention on the auburn-haired girl in front of him.

"Wow, that must have hurt." Sora said when she finished her story of how she broke her ankle in cheerleading.

Kairi laughed and nodded. "Yeah, but what hurt most was not being able to compete. I wasn't able to even ice skate or anything. I felt so useless."

"You're not useless!" Sora replied, shaking his head. What a defeatist attitude. If it was anything to ever NOT do, it was to have a defeatist attitude. You'd never get anything done that way.

"I guess you're right." Kairi just sighed, running her hands through her hair and getting up as the bell rang. Sora sighed as well, going to collect his books and going right out of homeroom.

While going on his way to his class, he was busy arguing with Roxas(about who knows what; those two bicker like brothers) so he was not paying attention to where he was going. When he snapped back to the world, he realized he was about to step on a girl who had obviously not been paying attention either, and had bumped into him.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Sora said, helping up the girl who stared at him strangely, not letting go of his hand.

'_**Oh god, fangirls!'**_ They both screamed, Sora wondering how to get out of this. Instead of the girl, who looked like a freshman, attacking them, she gasped and hugged him.

"Uncle!" The girl shouted happily, everyone in the hallway stopping dead to stare at Sora strangely.(Their thoughts were, _'Uncle?!? Does that mean that Olette isn't as young or good as everyone believes she is?!?'_) The brunette just laughed nervously.

"Um...I'm sure you have me mistaken for someone else...run along, little freshman." He said, and the girl frowned and took out a flashcard.(For some reason, the flashcard seemed nostalgic to Roxas, but he didn't remember why...)

"Sora, right?" She asked, looking back and forth between Sora and the flashcard. Sora nodded slowly, and she nodded happily, "Yep! You're definitely my Uncle!"

'_Oh, I know who that is now! That's Marlene...my half-brother's daughter.' _Roxas stated, '_Ask her how she's doing.'_

"Marlene, right?" Sora asked. Marlene nodded happily and let go of her 'Uncle'. "So, how has the 'two years' been?" He didn't want to say 'two thousand years' because then people would probably think he was nuts and try to place him in a mental hospital.

'**She's a demon, right? I mean...no normal human would be alive after this long of a time...'** Sora asked.

'_No. She used to be an angel, but after complications arose she became fully vampire. That's why her eyes are the color of blood.'_ Roxas repliedand Sora did indeed look in her eyes. They were as crimson as blood as his alter ego stated.

"Um, it's been pretty good!" Marlene answered, picking up her books and walking beside Sora. "After school...I need to tell you some things. They're really important...um, meet me in Gippal's classroom immediately after school, okay?"

Sora nodded, watching Marlene run off. **'What's a vampire doing in my school? That makes me really nervous...what if she starts sucking my blood?!?'** Sora panicked, not surprised that vampires _existed._ He was kind of used to the supernatural interfering in his life now-a-days, but he had never met a vampire before.

'_I don't think she will, her cover would be ruined. Relax, Sora.'_ Roxas said, sighing, _'you're such a worrywart.'_

'**Am not!' **Sora argued.

'_Don't tell me we're going to start this again...you're such a child.'_ Roxas stated, sighing. As if _**Roxas**_ were the mature one...

'**Am not!'**

'_Are too!'_

'**Am not!'**

'_Are too!'_

'**Am not!'**

'_Are TOO!'_

* * *

Sorry for the randomness of this chapter. I know it kind of ended crappily, but the way I originally intended to end it was very, VERY cheesy so I ended it this way! Okay...I'm lazy so I don't feel like putting up this chapter's questions! Instead, I will ask you, the ever-so-kind reviewer, THIS: What song/songs were you listening to while reading this chapter? My answer: 

I was listening to Beautiful World by Utada Hikaru, Blurry by Puddle of Mudd, We Like to Party by Vengaboys, CHAIN by BACK-ON, Thanks for the Memories by Fall-Out Boy, Healing Power of the Psalms(Friar's Determination) by Koichi Sugiyama, How's it Gonna Be? by...I don't know, How Far We've Come by Matchbox Twenty, Karma by Bump of Chicken, It's Tricky by Run-DMC, J'en ai marre by Alizeé, Jumper by Third Eye Blind, meaning of birth by Motoo Fujiwara, Mizu no Akashi by Tanaka Rie, Never Let You Go by I have no idea, Runnit by Chris Brown, Semi-Charmed Life by Third Eye Blind, Bet on It by Zac Efron(does anyone have the mp3 for this song? If you'd be willing to send it to me, I'd be eternally grateful!), and The Riddle by Five for Fighting while writing this chapter. Yes, I do listen to a lot of songs while writing chapters.

Um...what else do I need to say? Um...oh yeah, I was wondering if I should change by Penname. I'm starting to hate it, it is way too long for my taste. If I do change it, I would change it to what I originally had it, Lunar Seal. What do you guys think I should do? I mean, you guys would still be able to call me HnH if you wish, or LS or even WS if you're an old school fan of mine. (Haha)

Oh yeah! That also reminds me. I'm writing a one shot, and as of now it's a Kaiora. The pairing may change...but, anyway, that will most definitely be up before next chapter(most likely). If you want to check it out and review, that would be awesome. :D But, the point of letting you all know is not to self-advertise, but to warn you guys that next chapter(chapter forty! Woo-hoo) may not come out for some time.


	5. Eudaemonia for Roxas

Thanks to roxas-kh, Orika, BloodSkye, Ellie, Sweeteen19, kinmoku2, Cheerful-Pessimist and lebrezie! Ergh, I don't really feel like typing out anything else right now because I was listening to this really sad song(actually, I couldn't listen to all of it because I seriously break down. It is the saddest music you will ever hear in your entire life, especially when you know why it was written) and it made me all depressed. And when I'm sad I don't really feel conversative. D:

But before I start the chapter, I will tell you one thing: Nohealani d'Mia means Beauty from Heaven of Mine. Just in case you wonder what that means later on...

**Disclaimer:** Oh, don't make me more depressed by admitting that I don't own anything... T.T

_Roxas' Thoughts_

**Sora's Thoughts**

_**Both of their thoughts**_

Angels in Flight: Eien no Tobira

Chapter 40/5: **E**udaemonia for Roxas

It was once again time for History class. But this time, Roxas wanted to stay awake throughout the course of the class.

'**You sure you can handle it?' **Sora asked as Gippal took attendance in the class.

'_I'm not a baby.'_Roxas huffed.

'**Suuuure you're not...'** Sora mumbled, as their 'teacher' got done with taking attendance.

"Sooo..." Gippal said, rubbing the back of his head, "Where exactly did Nooj leave off with you brats--I mean, adorable little cherubs?" When he said 'cherub' he looked right at Sora, and then at Olette, and then at the class as a whole. Kairi rose her hand meekly. "Miss Leonheart?" He said, tilting his head slightly.

"Um, what does cherub mean?" She asked. Truthfully, no one else knew what it meant either, and were quite curious as to what a cherub was.

"It's a **fat **baby angel." Gippal said, sending another look towards Sora, who suppressed a laugh.

'**Dude, he just called you a chubby infant.'**

'_Yeah,'_ Roxas said sourly, obviously not appeciating what he was called, _'I'm not fat. I AM an infant by the supernatural standards, and I may WEIGH a lot, but it's because...'_

'**Wait, I thought angels didn't weigh a lot? They're like birds, right? Hollow bones so they can fly?'** Sora asked.

'_Shush. Listen to Gippal's lesson, it's important.' _He didn't seem like he wanted to talk about his weight problems(which surprised Sora, because Roxas didn't LOOK heavy).

"So, my dear little cherubs," Gippal said, "What did you last learn?"

"We were talking about current events, actually. We learned about the downfall of Tsugare a long time ago." Olette piped up(which made everyone groan; they all knew the stuff on Tsugare so they could've easily aced those tests), "We were talking about what happened with Disney Castle."

'_What's Disney Castle? That wasn't around when I was, and no one ever told me about it.'_ Roxas asked.

'**Disney Castle was built as a result of The War of the Lost which occurred during your time, exactly two thousand years ago. You don't know about it?'** Sora asked.

'_...A war? During my time?...I think I know what you're talking about. Anyway, What happened?'_

'**Well. The War of the Lost was when all these Kingdoms that were technologically advanced compared to now clashed together, and as a result, all of the technology and machinery was lost. That's why it's called 'The War of the Lost'. Clever, huh?'** Sora explained, and Roxas just mumbled a reply,** 'There are rumors that remains of _genetically enhanced __bioweapons_ are out there. Isn't that wild? _Bio-weapons?_' **Sora seemed to think that the idea of a human machine was awesome, **'Anyway, in the middle of the war all of the Kingdoms fell due to revolt because they didn't like the war or whatever, so the alive royals and aristocrats built a castle in a faraway island. That became Disney Castle, ruled by a monarchy.'**

'_I see...So no one won this War of the Lost? No more Bioweapons were made?'_ He asked, seeming a little worried.

'**Well yeah, the poor people won because they got rid of monarchies and aristocracies and things, except for Disney Castle, that is. Oh, and all that technology was lost loooong ago.' **Sora explained, Roxas sighing in relief.

'_Oh thank God...'_

Sora was about to reply, but Roxas told him to be quiet and follow the conversation that was going on in class. When the brunette tuned back in the conversation, Gippal was staring at him.

"Mr.Hikari?" He asked, looking at him with a stern look on his face. **'Why does Gippal need to pick on me?!?'** Sora wondered, looking around the classroom to see what Gippal wanted his attention for. "Can you tell me what happened at Disney Castle and how long ago it happened?"

"Um, no." Sora scratched his head, "I don't remember..."

Gippal sighed as everyone laughed, "How about you, Miss Strife?"

"Well, what happened was that thirteen years ago, when Queen Lenne and King Shuyin were in rule was that there were these groups of rebels, I suppose you could say, and they burned the castle because they wanted Disney Castle to rise atop of the other cities. The King, Queen, and their three children were supposedly burned alive along with the castle and everyone else." Olette explained.

"If," Gippal started, walking around the classroom like all teachers do, "someone can give me the names of these children , I'll give you ALL five points on your next test."

Immediately, hands went flying up at once. Gippal sighed and called on a random person, who guessed 'Apple, Orange, and Banana.' Obviously that was wrong so he called on another person, who guessed 'Cherry, Strawberry, and Mango'. That was wrong as well, but it did cause a stir of laughter.

"Does anyone ACTUALLY know?" Gippal asked, and all of the hands went down. He sighed, "That's what I thought..." He then started to drone on about Disney and what happened to it. Sora wasn't really paying attention, he knew he could ask Olette later.

But, what he did want to do was get Kairi's attention(since she sat right next to him) and wondered how to do it because she seemed to intently listen to Gippal. He thought for a moment, then got an idea. He placed his pen at the edge of his desk and with a push, it fell over the edge of his desk and rolled under Kairi's desk. "Kai," He whispered, getting the auburn-haired girl's attention, "Could you get my pen for me?"

Kairi blinked, stared at him for a little, and then looked under her desk and found it. She picked it up and gave it to him, their hands slightly touching(**'WE HELD HANDS, ROXAS!'** Sora exclaimed, **'This is the best day of my life!'** to which Roxas spared the comment of, _'In order to have a best day of your life, you NEED a life to have a best day in'_) as the 'ceremony'(As Sora highly regarded it as) of the 'Passing of the Pen' was completed.

'_Well,'_ Roxas thought to himself, _'At least KAIRI doesn't think he's an idiot.'_ At that thought, Roxas(Sora was too elated and off into his own little world to be in tune with anything around him at this point) could hear Kairi sigh with patience you could only hold for an idiot. _'Okay,'_ Roxas thought, sighing to himself as well, _'I stand corrected.'_

-

The end of the school day came quickly. It was a normal school day(with routine Hayner-bashing and more Kairi-flirting of course) so nothing out of the ordinary. Roxas insisted that going to Marlene was more important than blitzball practice, so that's what Sora did. Besides, Sora decided that Gippal could always write him a pass or something.

So, Sora made his way to Gippal's room as soon as the bell rung, signaling the end of the school day. When he got there, his History 'sub' and the vampiric girl who had told him to come here was here herself.

"We need you guys to separate." Gippal said.

"Uh..." Sora rubbed his head, "That's not such a good idea. Makes Roxas a little nuts-o, you know?"

'_Nuts-o?'_ Roxas raged, _'Sora, you immature little brat! You have no idea...!'_ As Roxas ranted about the immaturity of Sora(which the brunette just ignored), Gippal answered his question.

"Believe me, he'll be fine. If things get bad Marlene can suck out all his blood so he'll be uncounscious." Gippal said off-handedly, and Sora shrugged.

'**You heard him...'**

With a sigh, Roxas separated from his alter ego. Of course, the blonde was wearing clothes(his Organization cloak to be exact). It would be really weird if he just separated from Sora _naked._ Not only would that traumatize SORA for life, but it would ensure years for therapy and maybe a visit to the looney bin for Olette.

"Man, it is so weird seeing you when you're not me." Sora mumbled, scratching his head. Roxas just raised an eyebrow and sat down at a desk.

"So, what's up, Marlene? How's Vincent and Lucrecia? And everyone else, for that matter?" Roxas asked, Sora sending him a confused look. "Vincent and Lucrecia are Marlene's parents, Sora."

"Which makes Vincent your half-brother?" Sora asked, remembering that Roxas had said Marlene was his niece by his half-brother.

"Wow, I'm surprised you remember." Roxas said, snickering slightly as Sora started to fume and call Roxas mean.(Which, honestly, went right through Roxas like he was a ghost) "Continue, Marlene."

"Daddy and Mommy are getting along really well." Marlene said happily, then adding, "Everyone else...that's what I kinda wanted to talk about. You see...we...kind of...sort of..."

"Kind of sort of what?" Roxas asked, tilting his head. Marlene started to sway back and forth on the balls of her feet, lacing her hands behind her back and avoiding eye contact with both of the Hikaris.

"Well, it wasn't my fault! Really, it was Grandpa's..." She said, and then looked at Sora who had the spacey look on his face(his anger had subdued quickly) and added, "Grandpa Sephiroth. You know, King of all Fallen Angels and stuff?"

"Oh yeeeeaaaah, I remember him. Scary guy, kind of evil with a really cool theme song?" Sora asked. Gippal and Roxas laughed and nodded.

"That's the one." Roxas chuckled. "Anyway, Marlene, what happened?"

"WekindoflosttheEiennoTobiraanditdisappearedforawhileandwhenwefounditagaintheOrganizationmembersweren'tintherewechecked and I'm really sorry!" Marlene blurted out. Sora, Gippal, and Roxas looked at her with wide eyes.

"Woah."

"She said, 'We kind of lost the Eien no Tobira and when we found it again the Organization members weren't in there we checked and I'm really sorry!'" Roxas decoded what she said for them, then digested what he had repeated, "Wait. ORGANIZATION MEMBERS?" He stood up from the desk he was sitting in.

"Which means they're wandering around somewhere, because if they're not in the Eien no Tobira, they're here." Gippal explained.

"Oh, sweet!" Sora shouted, remembering that the Organization members were Roxas' fellow hoodlums. "Now we'll get twelve people to help us find Naminé and kick Seifer to the curb!"

"That means...Axel's back, and everyone else..." Roxas said slowly, as if he couldn't comprehend it, "But someone...someone had to release them from the Eien no Tobira, right? Only people of power could do something like that. Not even I could as release a soul from the Eien no Tobira, not to mention twelve."

"So someone with a lot of power has to be wandering around here that wants to help you, right?" Sora asked. Gippal and Marlene nodded.

"But there's some bad news..." Marlene added, "it turns out, that along with the Organization, someone else also came back..."

Roxas sighed, "I know Seifer is back. He killed Leon because he was after Kairi who he thought was Naminé."

"Well, there's something you both DON'T know. He's here." Gippal said, making Roxas flinch and Sora recoil.

Roxas shook his head, "I would have sensed it."

"Which is why," Marlene explained, "he's in hiding."

"Hiding?" Sora asked, exchanging a glance with a shrugging Roxas.

"Like how Roxas is hiding. So, it's likely Seifer doesn't where you are, just like you don't where he is." Gippal said, leaning on his desk.

"Wait, you mean like...alter egos?" Sora questioned.

"That's exactly what we're saying! So, we're warning y--" Before Marlene finished her sentence, both of them jolted out the door.

"Hayner." They both said, immediately knowing who it was. It had to be. It would explain their dislike for him.

"I don't get it, Roxas," Sora asked, having no trouble keeping up with his alter ego,(he had obviously forgotten about blitzball practice, oh well) "How come Hayner would like Olette then?"

"One reason I can think of," Roxas said, stopping when they reached a hallway mysteriously filled to the brim with kids. It was mysterious because the rest of the school was empty, and it was after school when everyone should have gone home. So, while treading through the sea of kids(and keeping a watchful eye out of Hayner) Roxas explained, "He and Hayner could be two entirely different people, like you and I. Hayner could have his own tastes in girls, like you and I do. Honestly, I don't really like Kairi."

Sora glared at him and smacked him on the head. "Why not?!?"

"Because Naminé's much kinder, more perfect, and prettier, that's why!" Roxas argued, rubbing his head.

"No she's not!"

"Have you even seen her before?"

"No--" Sora admitted, stopping, "But I can guarantee you that Kairi is the prettiest girl you'll ever meet."

"No she's not!"

"Yeah she is!"

"No she's not!"

So, they continued arguing like that, both of them too stubborn to admit that who you thought was prettier was all based on preference. Off they went, looking for Hayner through the congested hallway and bickering like idiots at the same time. When they reached the end of the hallway, Hayner could not be found.

"Do you think he's still in school?" Sora finally asked, his voice a little hoarse from yelling at Roxas, who shrugged.

"He's probably hanging around outside like the thug he is." Roxas replied, his voice not even cracked. Sora kind of wondered why, but then again, he didn't really care about that _Kairi hater._

"Yeah, let's go. Maybe we'll find Kairi there."

Roxas snorted, "Hopefully not."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

"What's that **not** supposed to mean?"

"S-Stop confusing me!" Sora cried, not being able to comprehend his words. Roxas just snickered, "Why do you have to be so mean to me?!?" He wailed.

"I'm just kidding around." Roxas said, laughing and playfully punching Sora's shoulder. "Don't be such a baby."

Sora crossed his arms, not very happy that Roxas was messing around with him. "Don't be so tough!"

"Well, maybe I wouldn't be tough if you weren't a baby."

"I'm not a baby!"

"Save it for court, Whiney Von Tattletale."

Sora huffed angrily(that made Roxas laugh, which made Sora angrier), and said, "Well, maybe I wouldn't be Whiney Von Tattletale if you weren't..." He thought of a good name to use for Roxas, "Cantankerous McFinklefarcus!"

They stared at each other for a while, Sora waiting for a retaliation and Roxas thinking about what he said. Suddenly, the blonde just burst out laughing, "McFinklefarcus?"

"H-Hey, it was the best I could think up of!"

Still, the laughter did not cease for Roxas. "Well," He said, when he was finally composed, " If I'm Cantankerous McFinklefarcus, and you're Whiney Von Tattletale, what would that make Olette?"

"Um...Quincent J. Shelby-Dexter?" Sora suggested. This time, they both laughed.

"What makes you think she's a Quincent J. Shelby-Dexter? She always seemed more of a Nohealani d'Mia to me." Roxas said, rubbing his head. Sora did not reply, because they made it(finally) to the outside of the building, where different groups of kids were assorted.

There...they saw...

"Olette!" Sora yelled, running to his sister who was talking to that...that...that _**vile **_being that made his name known as Hayner. Olette turned around, and looked surprised.

"Uh...Sora...what's..." She couldn't find the right words to say, and instead nodded her head towards Roxas, "Why is he..."

"Listen up, Hayner!" Sora shouted, pointing ay the kid, "We know who you really are, so the charade is up!"

"Um...what are you talking about, Sora?" Hayner asked, rubbing his head, "And who's the dude that looks a lot like you?"

"Don't play dumb!" Roxas yelled, "You know who I am! Or, let me make that clearer: _**Seifer**_ knows who I am."

"Roxas! Sora! What are you two doing?!?" Olette shouted, wondering where their reason had gone. "Keep Hayner out of this, he doesn't know anything!"

"No, he lied to you, Olette!" Sora said, shaking his head, "He's actually Seifer in disguise!" He pointed at Hayner accusingly.

The dirty blonde blinked, scratching his head. "Olette," He leaned down to whisper in the said girl's ear, "I think your brother and that other guy that looks a LOT like him have lost it."

This made Olette glare at the two, "What do you guys think you're doing?!? He doesn't know what you're talking about! Leave him alone!"

"He's tricking you, Olette! Can't you see it?!?" Sora said. The quartet didn't notice they had attracted the attention of half the school(even though most of the staff and students should have already gone home).

"What's going on, Sora?" This newcomer was none other than our favorite bishie, Riku! (accompanied by Fuu) Riku(and Fuu) glanced at Roxas, "And...who's that?"

_**"I**_ am none of your business." Roxas snapped, turning his attention back to Hayner(who looked really confused). "Now, Seifer, tell me something: Why did you kill Leon?"

Hayner blinked, standing his ground unflinchingly, "I don't know! Why are you calling me Seifer? Who's Leon? Who are YOU?" He asked, crossing his arms.

"Seifer...?" Riku(and Fuu) blinked, then turned to the blonde, "Wait, are you Roxas?"

Olette, Sora, and Roxas gasped. "How do you know him, Riku?!?" Sora asked, bewildered that Riku could associate the name 'Seifer' and 'Roxas' together.

"So you ARE Roxas!" Riku said, narrowing his eyes. "You're the one..." He was about to lash out at the angel, when Fuu grabbed his arm.

"Not here." She spoke, sending a cold glare towards the blonde who just returned it with the same malice.

"Anyway," Roxas turned his attention back to Hayner, "Have you--"

"Roxas, please, not here!" Olette begged, stepping in between the raging blonde and the confused blonde, noting that quite a crowd had gathered, "Hayner doesn't know anything! He's not Seifer, I promise!"

"He's been tricking you! Gippal confirmed it himself, that Seifer was wandering around here! We've been getting bad vibes from you ever since you arrived here, so you have to be him!" Sora said, determination in his voice.

"Dudes," Hayner started, "Lay off the crack. It seriously damages your mind."

"C-Crack?!?" Roxas yelled, obviously ignoring Olette and her pleads to stop, "I won't be mocked by the likes of y--Ah!" He stopped his rant, realizing his hand was shaking involuntarily.

"Oh my god!" Olette gasped, covering her mouth and her eyes widening. Everyone looked in awe(although half of them didn't know why his hand shaking was such a big deal). It was a big deal, though, and it was a big deal because if Roxas couldn't control his hand(which was why it was shaking) then he'd probably snap and massacre half the school. Which wouldn't be too good, now would it?

Olette and Sora looked at each other, and somehow communicated the same message through their 'twin telepathy'--Roxas needed to get back inside of Sora before anything bad happened.

The brunette girl took a deep breath and spun around on her heel. She grabbed Hayner's collar and pulled him towards her, kissing him.

The crowd turned all their attention to them, drop-dead surprised that what they were seeing was REAL and happening in front of their eyes. The lack of attention from the crowd gave Roxas the time to jump right back into Sora, as if he weren't there at all.

Once they were back in one piece, Sora took the liberty of separating the two. The audience 'aw'ed as Olette turned a shade of red rivaling a cherry, whereas Hayner looked too surprised to be embarrassed. (Not that he'd get embarrassed by this, anyway)

'_Y...You know, Sora...'_ Roxas thought, _'May...Maybe Hayner ISN'T Seifer. He doesn't seem like he knows anything...'_

'**Don't be ridiculous, Roxas! If it's not him, then who could it be? I know the whole student body!'** Sora replied, and it was true. He knew a lot of people due to track and blitzball, and then Olette and her friends, and Olette's friend's friends...and that was how you got to meet people. Besides, Sora lived in Twilight Town his whole life, of course he'd know all the kids.

'_I...I don't know. I think we should lay off of him until we can find the Organization. They'd be able to help us find Seifer.'_ Roxas said, and Sora sighed.

'**Fine.'** After the decision to leave Hayner alone was made, Sora decided to cover up the whole thing (since all the girls were asking, 'Where'd that cute blonde guy go?' and all the guys were wondering when Sora had jumped off the deep end).

"This was allll a dream..." Sora said, waving his hands around, (making Olette sigh and slap her forehead) "No one was ever hereeeee..." He slowly walked away as everyone's eyes followed him(_'The hypnosis is actually working? Woah, who knew?!?'_ Was Roxas' two cents). "When I snap my fingers, you will all fall asleeeeeep...and then, five minutes later you will wake uuuuuup...and when you wake up...you will not remember this whole day!"

Sora grabbed Olette's arm and snapped his fingers. Surprisingly, everyone excluding Riku, Hayner, Fuu, and Olette herself collapsed and fell asleep. The brunettes didn't notice, so they turned around and ran.

Once they made it to their house, Olette(between pants because she was out of breath) asked Sora, "Why... did you... both do that?"

"Because we thought Hayner was Seifer! We can't have you hanging around the ENEMY!" Sora said, not even breaking a sweat because he was on track and used to running. Olette just rolled her eyes, entering the household along with her twin.

"Good afternoon, Sora, Olette." Aerith nodded her head and hugged both of her children, "How was your day at school?"

"Terrible." Olette answered, sitting down on a nearby couch. Sora sighed and took a seat right where he was. The floor was carpeted, and it was nice and fluffy anyway, so it wasn't a big deal for Sora to sit on the floor.

"Why?" Tifa, who was munching on a chocolate chip muffin, came in.

'_You made muffins?!?'_ Roxas asked, _'Sora, get one.'_

"It was my first time cooking muffins, and I must say I am impressed with them. Not to brag or anything." Tifa said, laughing. Usually Aerith cooked(because she was a GREAT chef) so it was rare to hear that TIFA made a food, ESPECIALLY desserts. No one had really ever tried Tifa's(or Cloud's, for that matter) food, so the twins were curious as to how she cooked.

"I'll have one!" Sora said jovially, skipping into the kitchen with Tifa following. While they were out of the room, Aerith turned to Olette with a questioning look on her face.

Olette sighed, "Sora AND Roxas made a big ordeal at school. They both, TOGETHER, gave Hayner a really big argument about whether he was Seifer or not in front of half the school." She moaned, holding her head as she recollected the moments. "It was so embarrassing, Mom..._**especially**_ in front of Hayner! Out of everyone, why did they have to cross-examine HIM?!?"

Aerith gasped, "They didn't!"

Olette sighed and dropped her hands to her lap, "They did."

When Sora bounded back into the room, he said, "Olette you have to try the--" He got cut off by a glare from his mother. Aerith? GLARING? Oh my god guys, get your helmets and hide under your desks because the sky must be falling!

"Roxas, I cannot believe that YOU, of all people, acted irresponsibly! I can understand Sora, but I thought you would at least take the severity of this situation seriously!" Aerith admonished, placing her hands on her hips. Tifa's mouth formed an 'O' as she grabbed Olette and dragged her into another room.

'_...Tell her that I'm sorry, and that she's right...AND that I'm ashamed of myself...'_ Roxas said, sighing, _'I suppose I was acting a bit immaturely, but I'm just a LITTLE on edge...'_

Sora repeated everything Roxas said. Aerith sighed, "I'm not the one you should be apologizing to. It's to Olette."

Sora stuck out his tongue, "Do I have to?" He whined, but Aerith just gave him a stern look. Sora sighed, turning around and walking towards the kitchen... "Fine..."

Olette was currently eating one of Tifa's muffins, while Tifa was hovering about her asking her how it was. When Olette gave her a thumbs-up was when Sora came in.

"Uh, hey, Olette..." Sora started, rubbing the back of his head, "I'm reeeeaaaallly sorry for what I did at school."

'_Me too. I hope you find it in your heart to forgive us. Hayner won't remember, anyway. No one will due to Sora's...hypnosis.'_ Roxas said apologetically.

Olette sighed and hugged Sora, "Oh, how can I be mad at my own twin brother and his alter ego? But never do that again or else I will have to hold a grudge against you!"

Sora nodded, "Unless we figure out for SURE Hayner is Seifer, we won't ever do that again!"

'_Right...there's something suspicious about Hayner, though. He doesn't exactly have a good and clean aura, if you ask me. He seems kind of...dark. You know?' _Roxas muttered, but fortunately Olette didn't feel like arguing.

"I know what you mean..." Sora mumbled, "I have a feeling he's in some anti-angel cult or something."

"That's impossible," Tifa shook her head, grabbing another muffin and biting into it, "No one has any verification that angels even _exist_. They are just 'fables' that some people believe in. Just because we know about them," Tifa made a circling motion with her hands, "And ARE some, doesn't mean that other people know about the existence of angels. It's just something in their religion as far as they know."

"Maybe...Maybe he's actually the Organization come back, and now they hate you and are pro-Seifer!" Sora suggested.

'_Don't even THINK like that. The Organization loves me like family. Except for Even...he always wanted to experiment on me because of my angelic background but ANYWAY, they would never be pro-Seifer unless their memory got erased and Seifer was the one that released them from the Eien no Tobira.'_ Roxas argued.

"The Organization came back?!?" Tifa asked, her eyes widening. "How? Why? They were under Bahamut's watch, he'd never let them escape!"

'**Bahamut?'** Sora questioned.

'_Bahamut is the Eien no Tobira itself. Really big dragon-ish dude, but he's scared of me because I killed him before. Anyway, we found out from Marlene that someone released the Organization from the Eien no Tobira and that they're wandering around somewhere.'_ Roxas explained.

"Why would someone release the Organization?" Tifa asked to no one in particular, tapping her chin, "I think someone is definitely trying to pull some strings here."

"What do you mean?" Olette asked, tilting her head slightly.

Tifa sighed, "I think someone is TRYING to start a fight between Roxas and Seifer. Having a reunion between Roxas and the Organization would certainly get Roxas fired up."

'_That's right; after all, they hate him as much as I do. He was the one who sent them all to the Eien no Tobira in the first place.'_ Roxas said, _'But why would someone want a fight to break out between the light and the darkness? That doesn't make any sense, no one wants violence.'_

"Maybe whoever released the Organization is trying to get this big fight over with?" Olette suggested, "Because I honestly hope that this time around Roxas'll get the job done. I don't want future generations to be entangled in this everlasting feud between light and darkness too."

"Yeah..." Sora nodded, not really knowing what was going on. All he could make out of the conversation was that Seifer was the darkness, they were the light, and someone wanted a war between them.

A knock on the door interrupted any more budding ideas, as Tifa, Olette, and Sora rushed to the door, but Aerith beat them to it. The four stood around the door, wondering who their visitor was, when Aerith opened the door after the perfect amount of hesitation(to draw suspense).

The foursome gasped when they saw who it revealed. A beaten-up Zack, supporting a limping and bloody Cloud. Both of them looked like they would collapse if they took another step.

Aerith and Tifa both helped Cloud and Zack to sit on the couch. The two females immediately went to healing and whatever else.

"Oh my god!" Olette cried, and she literally did cry. "Who...who could..." She started, not able to finish her sentence as she turned away from the scene.

Sora didn't know what to do, exactly, as he stared at his 'Uncle' and his father all injured. Aerith and Tifa were doing what they could, but it was easy to see that they'd have to spend a couple of days of dedicated healing to get them in right order again.

"Olette, it's okay..." Was the only thing Sora could think of saying, "They'll be alright..."

'_Sora, I think I can help them out. Let me take over.'_ Roxas commanded, and Sora nodded, running to the kitchen and downing a couple of sleeping pills. Soon the angel was in command, rushing outside to help with anything he could help with.

"What happened to you guys?" Roxas asked, looking over the condition of Zack and Cloud. They were banged up pretty badly.

"Seifer and Cloud had a duel, so to speak. I had to intervene because it looked like Cloud was going to lose. And then we were brought to the hospital and stayed there a couple of days..and then Heartless attacked the hospital...it was a mess..." Zack mumbled, and Cloud just turned his head away in reply.

"Cloud, are you alright?!?" Aerith fussed, looking over his wounds, "You're hurt so badly...wh--"

Cloud, doing the smart thing, changed the subject abruptly, "We found Naminé."

They all froze, making it dead silent except for the sound of Olette's near-silent sobs. Roxas blinked, saying slowly, "What did you say?" It was as if they could not believe it. Actually, let me rephrase that: They _**couldn't**_ believe it.

Cloud looked at Roxas wearily. "Don't make me say it again."

Still the blonde angel could not believe it. He was hit with such a rush of emotion he didn't know what to believe. He looked at Zack for acceptance of this idea, and he nodded.

"We found her. Of course, it would make us look like pedophiles if we kidnapped a little girl, but we know where she is." Zack said, trying to bring light to the situation.

"I...I don't understand. If you guys found her, then does that mean Seifer knows where she is?" Roxas asked worriedly, "Does that mean--?!?"

"Calm down." Cloud said, shaking his head, "We found her when we were brought to Traverse Town's hospital. She was there, getting looked at by a doctor."

"She's alive..." Roxas whispered, smiling for the first time in who knows how long, "She's alive and she's in Traverse Town!!"

* * *

Ugh, seriously, I am having problems with ending my chapters. Gosh what a bad way to end this chapter! But YAY! Nami's back! Oh golly gee, what will Roxas do? Will Cloud and Zack get better? (Noez they have to! I won't allow them to die:( ) What will happen with Olette and Hayner? What was up with Sora's hypnosis? Why did it WORK? Where is the Organization, now that they're alive? Who released them from the Eien no Tobira? Will they side against Roxas? And when will Seifer show his cowardly face to the world? Why was the hallway mysteriously crowded?(Really, there was an important reason for that believe it or not) Will Riku EVER be early to Homeroom? 

Find out next time in...

-insert catchy theme-

Angels in Flight: Eien no Tobira

Episode 41: **G**lory Before the Battle!


	6. Glory Before the Battle

Thanks to kinmoku2, roxas-kh, Mekishika, Ellie, Orika, Cheerful-Pessimist, Random, Sweeteen19, and lebrezie!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. I don't own the song Roxie sings, Crank That, Soulja Boy Tell 'Em, The String Quartet Version of Roxas(omg, if you've never heard it...), Ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall, the characters, the places, blackjack...and yeah. That about sums it up. :D

**Sora's Thoughts to Roxas**

_Roxas' Thoughts to Sora_

_**Thoughts Together**_

Angels in Flight: Eien no Tobira

Chapter 41/6: **G**lory Before the Battle

Tifa, Aerith, and Olette had told Roxas that it was alright to leave them with Zack and Cloud. They told him that he could go to Naminé, and he could barely wait. So, currently, he was flying over Twilight Town.

'**You know,'** Sora said sleepily, **'I've never been to Traverse Town before. What's it like?'**

'_Why are you asking me? I don't know,'_ Roxas shrugged, _'Do you know what it used to be back in my time?'_

'**Um.'** Sora thought for a moment, **'I think it used to be...The Kingdom of the White Night, Kyakulka or something.'**

'_Hmm. Byakuya, huh?'_

'**Yeah, that's it! After The War of the Lost, orphans and lost soldiers and whatever went to Byakuya, and it transformed into Traverse Town, a sanctuary for the lost.'** Sora explained, seeming proud of himself, **'Yay, I did retain something from History! I am so proud.'**

'_Hn. I'm sure.'_ Roxas didn't seem very interested in Sora's accomplishments. As he flew out of Twilight Town, it immediately turned to daylight. Since Twilight Town was always draped in perpetual twilight, it meant that they were now out of Twilight Town. He flew some more, until it turned to night. This change of scenery meant that they were now in another town. Roxas landed, his wings disappearing. _'Do you, by any chance, know what town is north of Twilight Town?'_

'**Nope. But this is definitely not an island, so it's not Destiny Islands. We're in either Traverse Town or Hollow Bastion.'** Sora said, **'Ask the natives.'**

Roxas nodded, walking about the town. It seemed slightly more high-tech(but nothing compared to his day) than Twilight Town. He gasped when he saw a Moogle, a little ball of fur with a pom-pom atop of his head and little demonic wings. "These things are still alive?!?" He asked to himself, then shook his head and grabbed the Moogle.

"Ah! Kupo!!!" The moogle shouted, wiggling around, "Let go of me, kupo!" The moogle bit on Roxas' hands, which made him let go of it.

"Agh! You stupid things are as annoying as ever, I see." Roxas mumbled, rubbing his hand, which was bleeding.

"What is your problem, kupo?" The moogle asked, and then it stared at him for a minute, flying on top of his shoulder, "Oh, you're St.Roxas, kupo?"

Roxas blinked, "Huh?" Saint? Where did THAT come from?

"Loooong ago, didn't you make a pact with us moogles, kupo, that gave you super-strength, kupo, but kind of made you a little crazy, kupo? You're famous with us moogles, kupo! A saint and a legend, kupo!" The moogle cried, bouncing up and down, "Any moogle, kupo, would recognize your face, kupo!"

'**What is he talking about?'** Sora questioned.

'_I was in the War of the Lost, and a moogle brought me messages from Her Highness, and when I would write back, the thing would deliver them back to her. When she was murdered...nevermind. Anyway, I think the moogle I was associated with back then exaggerated...but at least they regard me highly, unlike the rest of the world...'_ Roxas said, sighing, "Can you tell me where I am?"

"Traverse Town, kupo!" The moogle said brightly, "I can provide you, kupo, with a tour of the town, kupo, if you're unfamiliar with it, kupo!"

Roxas shook his head, "No, that's alright. Do you know everyone who lives here?"

"Just about, kupo!" The moogle said cheerily.

"Do you know a Naminé?" Roxas asked, hoping the moogle would say yes. In fact, he crossed his fingers just in case.

"I sure do, kupo!" The moogle said, "Naminé-chan loves us moogles, kupo! She says we're so soft, kupo!"

Roxas smiled, "Can I..." He thought about how he was going to word this, 'see her' might be a little weird, especially since he didn't know if she knew him or not, "...meet her?"

"Of course, kupo! She loves company, kupo, aside from her brothers, kupo." The moogle chirped, hopping off of Roxas' shoulder and scurrying away. He, obviously, followed.

'**I wonder what this Nadine girl is like. She must be really special in order for you to wait two thousand years, huh?'** Sora asked, and Roxas nodded.

'_Yes, she is. And her name is Naminé, not Nadine. Stop getting it wrong, it's irritating me.'_ Roxas said, continuing to follow the moogle.

'**Oh yeah, that reminds me...Where did Olette learn how to kiss?!?' **Sora, being the overprotective brother he was, had to know. Though, Roxas really wasn't the right person to ask...

'_How am __**I**__ supposed to know? It's not like__** I **__was the one to give her make-out lessons or anything!'_ Roxas huffed, wondering when they were going to get to wherever Naminé was. He had already been patient enough for two thousand years, he wasn't about to wait any longer.

'**Have YOU ever made out with a girl before?'** Sora asked, giggling like a mad schoolgirl.

'_W-Well...'_ Roxas wasn't sure what to say. Say the truth, and be a sissy, or lie and be tough. It wasn't in an angel's 'programming' to be dishonest, however...

'**You've never pulled the move on her before, have you? So I can guess that you're still a...'**

'_Shut up!'_ Roxas yelled, blushing a cherry red, _'Back in my time, it was improper to do those kinds of things unless you were married! And I am too young to be married, so be quiet you...you...you PIMPING-PROSTITUTE-SLUTTY-GIGOLO!'_

At this name, both of them started to laugh.(in their minds of course) However, when the moogle began to speak(finally) Roxas stopped paying attention to Sora.(**'Hey!'** Was what Sora thought, **'You're just going to IGNORE me? How rude, Roxas! What happened to 'bros before hos'??!'**)

"Here, kupo, is where she lives, kupo!" The moogle said, turning to Roxas, and then back at the building they were standing in front of, "I'm sure you can ask, kupo, where she is at the front desk, kupo! Good luck, kupo!" Then, the moogle zoomed away. Roxas sighed and looked back at the building, reading a sign which had faded letters he could barely make out to be 'Orphanage'.

"Orphanage?" Roxas asked sadly, "She lost her parents...why does Naminé always have to deal with such sorrow in her life?"

'**Roxas, stop sulking and GO IN THERE!'** Sora yelled, pushing Roxas towards the door(exactly how Roxas had pushed Sora towards Kairi on their 'first' meeting). He gulped, still not doing anything.

'_But...it's an orphanage...what if I wake up kids or something...'_ He said, and Sora sighed.

'**Don't use that as an excuse! You know as well as I do that you really want to see her! Hey, if you don't, then I'm going to!'** Sora said, so with a sigh, he knocked on the front door. Surprisingly, the wait was not long before someone who looked around twenty or so answered the door.

"Oh, we have visitors?" The man asked, then stepped aside and usheredRoxas to come in. Little kids who were playing with each other stopped and stared at him.

One of the children looked at the others and said, "See! I told you Daddy would come for me!" Then, the kid ran up to Roxas and hugged him, "Daddy!"

He blinked, looking at the caretaker who had answered the door. The caretaker sighed and pulled the little kid off of him. "That's not your father, Kyte." He said, and the kid's eyes welled up with tears.

"But--! But--! Daddy said he'd come back for me...he said..." The kid started to cry, and the caretaker sighed. Roxas frowned. It pained him to see a kid so miserable as this.

'**Can't you use your holy powers of the good to--'** Sora began, but Roxas cut him off.

'_It's not in my place to do anything. It's up to this kid's guardian angel.'_ Roxas said, sighing, _'I can't make anybody appear magically. I mean, I can work miracles, but...'_

"You don't seem like you're a day over eighteen," The caretaker then mused, "What are you here for?"

"Well..." Roxas sighed, wondering if what he was about to say was going to make him seem like a stalker, "I want to see someone...um, Naminé is her name..."

The caretaker's eyes widened, "What business do you have with my sister?!?"

Roxas blinked, _'Sister?!? She never had any brothers back in my day!'_

'**Weren't you listening to the moogle?'** Sora asked, **'Gosh, Roxas, it would ****pay**** off to ****pay**** more attention.'**

"I don't have any particular business with her..." Roxas said meekly, wondering if he was related to her biologically, or just figuratively.

The caretaker sighed, "She loves it when people visit her, anyway. I suppose it wouldn't do her any harm. I'm Reks, by the way. Reks Amaterasu."

"Ven Highwind, pleasure to meet you, Reks." Roxas said, not going to use his real name, even for Naminé's sake.

"So, Ven, where are you from?" Reks asked, as he walked throughout the orphanage, Roxas following.

"Twilight Town." He said, then decided to ask, "Are you actually related to Naminé?"

Reks nodded, "My younger brother Vaan and I are both biologically related to Naminé. I'm nineteen, Vaan is seventeen, and Naminé is fourteen. How old are you, Ven?"

"Sixteen." Roxas replied, getting kind of worried. _'Last time, I only had to go through her parents...this time, I have her two older brothers that are likely as protective as you to go through. It's going to be hard to go on a date...'_

'**DATE?!?'** Sora exclaimed, **'Roxas, dude, she's **_**waaaaay**_** too young for **_**you**_**. That's a difference of...'** He paused(either for dramatic effect or because he was just THAT stupid), **'two years! It'd be like ME dating a FRESHMAN!'**

'_Stop exaggerating. Two years isn't that big. If she were...ten or SIX, then I'd have a problem.'_ Roxas said, not seeming to have a problem with their 'gaping age difference'. Honestly, they(technically) were thousands of years apart already, what difference would it make to slap on two more years? Besides, Roxas couldn't age physically or mentally anyway...

Finally, Reks came to a room all the way in the top floor of the orphanage, way to the back. He knocked on it, "Hey Naminé, it's Reks. You have a visitor." He said, glancing at Roxas. However, it was not Naminé who opened the door, but a guy who looked a lot like the sandy-haired Reks, who had to be Vaan.

Vaan looked at Roxas with a raised eyebrow, then shrugged and stepped aside, "Come in." Roxas did so, to find that the room was quite...colorful. He blinked, surprised at the vivid colors. The walls were scribbled on, in a vast amount of pictures of people and scenery and everything. All the drawings on the walls were separated by thick black lines, and all of the walls were covered with the drawings, which consisted of varying things. From sunshine and flowers to a dark and dreary small cave.

"A visitor?" Piped up a soft voice, hopping off of a plain white bed. "For me?"

'**Is that...?!?' **Sora asked, almost as excited as Roxas. (But not nearly as excited as when Kairi had handed him his pen)

Roxas let out a deep breath he had been holding since he entered the room. _'I...can't tell.'_

'**What a rip off!'** The brunette cried, **'You've waited all this time, and you CAN'T TELL! Did you forget what she looked like?'**

Roxas did not reply, instead, he studied the girl who was his Naminé. She had the same attire as his old Naminé(a plain white dress but instead of blue sandals, blue slippers adorned her feet), same hairstyle as the old Naminé, and the same hair color as the old Naminé. One thing though, this new Naminé had that his old Naminé did not which was why he couldn't tell if Naminé was Naminé or not.

"There are..." Roxas said slowly, taking a step forward, "Bandages wrapped around her eyes..." He looked at Reks and Vaan, who were standing at one side as if they did not want to ruin the reunion. "Why?" He asked.

Vaan looked at Reks, who sighed, "She lost her eyesight." He explained, "_She_ chooses to wear those bandages, not us. That's why," Reks gestured to the drawings on the walls, "There are drawings on the walls. It was too hard for her to draw on a piece of paper, so we just let her draw on a wall where there was unlimited space. She likes to draw."

"Oh, how rude of me, I forgot to introduce myself," Naminé then said, placing her hand over her heart, "I'm Amaterasu Naminé. May I ask you what your name is?"

"Ven Highwind." Roxas replied, "It's such a pleasure to meet you, Naminé."

'**If I had to go through this situation, I would be friking FANBOYING over her by now. How can you contain yourself?'** Sora wondered.

'_If I do...'fanboy' over her, then I highly doubt that her WATCHFUL OLDER BROTHERS would let me see her again._' He replied, sighing, _'Yes, but there is a part of me...actually, the WHOLE of me that just has that urge to...for lack of better words, 'fanboy'.'_

"The pleasure is all mine!" Naminé smiled, holding out her arm which Vaan took as he led her over to Roxas so they were standing in front of each other, "Can I see what you look like?"

Roxas was puzzled by what she meant. He ignored the, **'What a dumb question. Of course she can't, she's **_**blind.**_**'** comment Sora so graciously bestowed upon him. He glanced at Reks and Vaan for any help in what this could mean, but they only gave him blank stares in return. "Of course." He answered, wondering how she was going to see what he looked like when she was blind.

Naminé stretched her arms out, grabbing onto the drawstrings of the hood of his cloak that he was wearing. (_'Cause everyone who's anyone wears them, Sora')_ "Oh, sorry." She apologized, moving her hands up further to have her fingertips rest at his forehead. She smiled, moving her fingers down the side of his face, careful not to poke him in his eyes, and then after she finished 'feeling' his face, she dropped her arms to her side and smiled again. "You're beautiful!"

At this, Sora started to laugh while Roxas turned a light pink. **'Ahahaha! She called you b...be...bea...beau...'**

'_Of all the things I was expecting for her to say, I'm sure THAT wasn't one of them.'_ Roxas mumbled, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. However, Naminé sensed this distress, and she tilted her head in worry.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I make you uncomfortable?" She asked quietly, lacing her hands behind her back.

"N-No, of course not." He shook his head. In fact, he felt the exact opposite. _**So**_ comfortable that he wasn't ecstatic enough to transform back to Sora. (Which, honestly, surprised both of them. **'Two thousand years and you're not even ****happy?**')

"You said your name was Ven, correct?" She asked, and he nodded. Then, remembering she couldn't see, he said, 'Correct'. She smiled, "How is that spelled?"

"V-E-N." Roxas spelled it out, wondering why she asked that, "Why?"

She nodded, and smiled, "I see." Naminé then reached her hands out to touch his hair. When she felt the spikes, she started to giggle, "Your hair...I love it! It's so unique."

Roxas laughed, "Yeah, it's a fashion statement."

"Really?" She asked, withdrawing her hands from his hair, "For what?"

He pondered on this, "It's for a... 'Stop Moogle Abuse' petition. Everyone who signed has to spike their hair."

'**You...You liar!'** Sora yelled.

'_I'm sure KAIRI would think highly of you if you said you joined a petition for 'Stopping Moogle Abuse'.' _Roxas replied, and Sora gasped.

'**Oh my gosh, you're right! Roxas, you're a genius!'** Sora shouted, then ranted and raved about how he would use this idea to progress his and Kairi's relationship.

"Oh," She clasped her hands together, "That's for such a good cause! I love moogles! You're such a nice person, Ven! I'm so glad you came and visited me!"

"Do you really mean that, Naminé?" He asked, his voice soft as if he could not believe what he was hearing. However, the big bad brothers did not seem to approve of this meeting. Oh well, they'll deal with it.

She nodded, "Yes! I mean that with all of my heart! When do you have to leave?"

Roxas looked around, to find that there WAS a clock on the colorful walls. "A couple of hours, why?" He asked. Even if it was a normal transformation, it was never really good to have Roxas be 'out' for too long of a time.

"Would you mind staying? I barely get any visitors besides from moogles, Vaan, and Reks..." She said sourly, sighing, and then whirling around. Reks grabbed her arm and led her over to her bed where she sat. "You can sit next to me, Ven." She said, patting next to her, where Roxas took a seat. On the opposite wall, glaring daggers RIGHT AT HIM, were Vaan and Reks.

"Are your brothers always this scary?" He whispered to her, which made her giggle.

"Yes, they tend to scare off a lot of people. Which is why I don't get a lot of visitors..." Naminé mumbled, then sighed, "Anyway, Ven, tell me about yourself."

"Well," Roxas began, about to say what color his eyes and hair were, but what good would that do? She probably didn't know what colors were which, "I like to sing..."

"Oh, sing a song for us! Will you please?" Naminé begged, and Roxas sighed.

"I suppose I could..." He thought of what he should sing. Of course, Sora was blurting out random suggestions, like 'Crank That' by Soulja Boy Tell 'Em.(Which is a COMPLETELY logical song to sing in front of Reks and Vaan) "Okay, here I go...

"_A single glass ball was dropped I was chasing after it, and another one dropped  
There's just one left over, where the sun is still shining _

From the time that our hearts begin to beat together  
We don't like it, but we continue to live  
We continue to protect ourselves, so that isn't taken away from us

Even though I keep my hands clean  
They look dirty  
Before I go on and doubt my memory, I question it

We're definitely going to meet  
I use the sound of our pulses, which are the same, to find my way  
I'm right here, I'm always calling out to you  
When my worn out reasons heap atop one another, and the pile sways  
I'll know the meaning of life

Life continues on as far as it can  
It can't be helped that I take up space  
Where the sun is still shining  
I don't really need there to be two...

A single glass ball was dropped  
When it fell, it shattered  
Basked in the light of a place that was plundered

I counted our footprints  
And before I knew it, there was only that number  
The thing that I need to know  
Somehow doesn't seem to exist

We're going to meet for the first time  
I use the banner of our screams, which are the same, to find my way  
Don't forget that I'm always calling out to you  
When we bury the pile of reasons together  
Then a promise will be exchanged between us

A mirror, it reflects so that we can both  
Reach out and touch our respective karmas  
Dirty hand to dirty hand  
Now I know where it's from

I'm right here, you're most certainly touching me  
We're in this sunny spot, enough for one

Don't forget that I'm always calling out to you From inside of the same glass ball as you  
That's right, we're definitely going to meet  
When a cross is built upon my buried reasons  
Then my promise will be carried out  
We'll become one..."Roxas finished, taking a deep breath afterwards. Reks, Vaan, and Naminé all applauded for him(although Reks and Vaan didn't seem so 'into' it). 

"That was wonderful, Ven! You have such a pretty voice..." She smiled.

"I see you like to draw." He said, looking at the walls, and even the ceiling had a splash of color on it. Talk about a kid writing on the walls.

"Yes...It's hard to, because I don't know what I'm drawing. I wasn't born blind, but something took away my eyesight when I was a year old. So, Vaan and Reks have to describe what a flower looks like...or a cave...or something." She said, sighing. "Vaan, Reks, what do you think of Ven? Can he come and visit me again?"

"Well...there's only one way to find out..."

-_  
_

"Hit me."

Reks sent Roxas a shifty look. "Say that again?"

"Hit me." Roxas repeated, looking cautiously around, as if he were hiding something. Vaan looked like he was about to explode.

"GAH! Just hurry up already!" He yelled, "You HAVE to be over twenty-one by now! Show us your hand, Ven!"

Roxas, Vaan, and Reks(with Naminé sitting between the other two Amaterasus) were seated in a circle, each having some cards. The way of telling if 'Ven' was worthy of visiting her again was by playing blackjack. The Amaterasus' had a winning streak at this game and not lost once. Roxas' luck, however, outrivaled theirs by a long shot.

Roxas showed them his hand, his newly received five, a two, another five, a seven, and a two. Twenty-one exactly. Vaan's mouth opened in disbelief.

"That's...I can't...WE LOST?!?" He spluttered, looking to his older brother, who threw his cards down in defeat.

"Well, I guess our good luck charm," When Reks said this, he ruffled Naminé's hair which made her smile and giggle slightly, "Finally has been beaten by Ven's amazing luck."

"It was a good try, though," Roxas laughed, "But I have an amazing amount of good luck. If I were old enough to go to casinos, I'd be a millionaire."

"How old are you, Ven?" Naminé asked, "You sound like you're Vaan's age...but I can't be too sure..."

"Yeah, I'm sixteen. By the way, Reks," Roxas decided he might as well bring this up while he was ahead, "Aren't you over eighteen? Can't you leave the orphanage?"

Reks nodded, "Yes, but I want to work here so I can be with my siblings and earn money at the same time. Once Vaan turns eighteen, he'll help me. I want to move out of this godforsaken place, I can't stand how some of the people treat Naminé here just because she can't see."

Roxas suddenly got defensive, his 'guardian angel' instincts inherited from his mother were kicking in(**'Oh no!'** Sora joked, **'It's Mother Hen Roxas!'**), "What do you mean? How are they treating her? Who are they?" He asked, slightly growling.

"It's okay, Ven," Naminé said, "They're not bothering me anymore. Reks and Vaan set them straight!"

"I'm a blackbelt in Karate, my brother and I are unparalleled at swordfighting, I know kickboxing, and he's good at what we call 'gangsta fighting'." Vaan said, laughing slightly.

"And if you're a person who's going to be bothering Naminé as well, we will not hesitate to knock the daylight out of you." Reks said, narrowing his eyes slightly.

Roxas shook his head, "You really don't have to worry about me."

Vaan rose an eyebrow, "We'll see. Naminé, you should get back to bed. The doctor said you should rest..."

"What's wrong with her?" He asked, remembering that Cloud and Zack had found her in the hospital.

"She suffers from bipolar. One week she will be all happy and friendly, like today, and then the next week, she will sleep in and only wake up an hour or so for the course of that day and then fall back asleep again." Reks explained, "She goes to the hospital monthly to get checked up on and to make sure all her nutrition is right and everything. In fact, we just left the hospital..."

"I see..." Roxas nodded, thinking to Sora, _'They must have left before the Heartless came.'_

"Ven, will you come and visit me again?" Naminé asked.

"Of course I will."

"I have an idea," She then said, "Why don't we all go out to dinner as a congratulatory for Ven being able to visit me? It's such a special occasion when Vaan and Reks are beaten at blackjack!"

Vaan and Reks laughed, and then the younger of the two said, "I think you just want an excuse to go out to that restaurant you like."

"But Vaan, Reks!" Naminé pouted, sticking out her lower lip, "They're so nice! Reno-kun and Larxene-chan are so nice and funny, especially when they argue with each other!"

"Which is, like, always." Vaan huffed. For some reason, Reno sounded familiar to Roxas...but for the life of anybody, he really couldn't remember why...

"I'm sure Ven would really, really like them all! And he's really good at blackjack, so maybe Luxord could let him in the casino!" She begged, clasping her hands together and leaning forward a little, "Pleeeeeaaaassseee?"

'**That restaurant must be pretty shnazzy if it has a casino in it.'** Sora commented, and Roxas agreed.

"This restaurant sounds pretty amazing. Does it have good food?" He asked, and all three nodded hastily.

"The best." Reks said, "They let us have discounts because we're regular costumers."

"And they really like Naminé, for whatever reason." Vaan said, "I think one of them has a crush on her or something." At this, the aforementioned girl giggled.

"A crush?" Roxas asked, snorting and trying to act like he wasn't jealous. "Oh, puh-leeze." He crossed his arms and turned his face away, an angry look on his face.

'**Ooooohhhhh, looks like you have some com-pet-itioooooon!'** Sora sang, then hummed, **'Ninety-nine suitors for Naminé, ninety-nine suitors for heeeer, you beat one up, then knock him out! Ninety-eight suitors for Naminé!!!' **

"One of them is really nice, too. And my age." Naminé added with a dreamy tone to her voice, "He doesn't talk much...and then there's this other guy, who is reeeaaally friendly! And he plays this instrument reaaaallly well!"

"Oh whoop-de-doo," Roxas muttered sarcastically, (**'Roxas,'** Sora said sternly(after he was finished with his edition of 'ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall'), **'Your jealousy is showing!' **To reply to that, Roxas just growled _'Shut up before I hurt you!'_) "He plays an instrument, how exciting." then he cleared his throat and said louder, "I want to meet these guys. I think we should go to this restaurant."

"Oh yay!" Naminé said excitedly, clapping her hands together, "I'm so excited!"

"When?" Roxas asked, "I have some free time--"

"Great," Reks said, "Then we'll go now."

His eyeballs practically bugged out of his head, "N-Now?!?" Roxas looked at the time. Granted, he still had another hour or so before he had to do the daily Twilight Town rounds, and he couldn't afford to risk his beloved town up to the Heartless while he was on a trivial dinner.

"Yeah, why not?" Vaan got up and brushed off his clothes before helping Naminé up, "I mean, it's not like we're doing anything, and due to her bipolar, you'll need to wait another week for this opportunity to come by again..."

"Fine!" Roxas said grudgingly, knowing he was going to regret this later...He had a bad-to-the-bone feeling about this, and he thought he knew why...

-

"Hello, welcome to _Castle Oblivion_." Said a monotone voice at the little podium(which made it look quite small since it was in front of a very large carpeted area with tables and chandeliers hanging from the ceiling which was painted with cupids and angels and other things), "Do you have a reservation?"

Roxas was busy playing with the zipper of his jacket(since he had taken off the Organization cloak and was now into his normal clothes) so he did not notice the speaker. If he had taken notice of the speaker, however, he would have been surprised at what he was wearing. A black cloak that was completely identical to the one he was wearing a few moments ago, with the exception of a golden nametag reading 'Zexion' in black, bold print.

"No," Reks said, "But we have these 'Valued customer' cards." He waved them in front of Zexion's face, who just sighed and took the cards.

The purple/gray/blue-haired teenager(who looked around fifteen) sighed again and looked at the cards, "These cards allow you to get seated immediately on the..." He looked at the cards again, "Basement Level. Would you like to get seated there? Or you can wait for a higher-up floor."

"Yeah, let's get seated at the basement floor. I'm hungry." Vaan said, and Zexion nodded.

"Follow me." He said in a monotone voice, walking down a pair of gorgeous marbled limestone spiraling staircases, past a floor with a huge ice sculpture of an angel flying up and holding onto a dove while looking on to other doves flying in the air. And then opposite that another angel sitting down on an ice sculpted fountain looking up at the birds, and then ANOTHER angel(**'Whoo-hoo!'** Sora cried triumphantly, **'This place is pro-angel! Right ON!'**) was standing on the other side of the fountain leaning down towards it and touching the 'water' in the ice sculpted fountain. There were even ice sculpted ripples in the ice sculpted fountain. It was truly beautiful, and the fact that there was a huge window in the back of the room made the starlight make the olympian-sized masterpiece glitter and gleam as if it were about to spring into life.

Zexion sighed, "You can stare at the sculpture later. Are you coming?" The group immediately turned around and followed their escort down the marbled limestone to come to a shining black obsidian floor with black obsidian columns with golden rings that sparkle with the crystal chandelier's light. In the background, you could hear some string instruments in the background, playing a very sad tune.(A/N: If you've ever heard of the String Quartet Version of Roxas, then now is the time to imagine that playing in the background. If you haven't...please, talk to me or something so I can send it to you. It's amazing. ANYWAY)

Roxas, who was now paying attention, gawked at the sight before him, "If THIS is the basement, then what the hell is it like upstairs?!?"

Reks punched him in the shoulder(not playfully) and Vaan sent him a glare, "Never curse around a lady."

"Dammit, my bad." Roxas said, Sora snickering. Naminé giggled but the brothers Amaterasu just deepened their glare. They certainly did not approve of the influence of pottymouth Roxas on their sweet, beloved Naminé. Also, Zexion managed to offer up a cough that could've been mistaken for a chuckle.

"Hahaha," Vaan said dryly, "Very funny." The group was quiet(except for the normal snide comments Sora usually made, but that could only be heard by Roxas) until Zexion showed them their table and placed down menus.

"Enjoy." He said very unenthusiastically, quickly hurrying away as if the ground were about to swallow him up. The four sat down, Reks sitting next to Naminé who was seated across from Vaan who, fortunately for him, was seated right next to our favorite blonde, Roxas!

Since Roxas didn't want any cross-examinations from the brothers Amaterasu, he hurriedly picked up a menu and began to submerge himself in it, acting like it was a shield that would magically reflect any questions directed towards him. In fact, he was SO absorbed into the menu(**'There's DUCK BUTT on here? Oh my golly gee, Roxas! You SO totally have to get the duck butt! Or the dog snout!'**) that when the waitress came around, he did not pay any attention to her and just ordered a glass of water.

HOWEVER, when the waitress got the drinks back to the table, Roxas DID pay attention because he could hear an argument going on. He looked up, to see their waitress was arguing with some red-headed guy who he couldn't get a good look of because his back was faced towards them.

"Yo, Larxene, this is NOT cool! You keep on stealing my customers!" The red-headed guy shouted. For some reason, his voice sounded REALLY familiar to Roxas, but he couldn't place a finger on it...

"I wouldn't steal your customers if you didn't steal mine first, Reno!" Larxene snapped, placing one hand on her hip. (The other hand held the tray where the Amaterasus' and Roxas' drinks were on)

"I did not steal them! Yo, they just happened to request me as their waiter! Don't be hatin' JUST because I am better at you in EVERYTHING, Larxene." The red-head who must've been named Reno said matter-of-factly.

The audience, who was all watching the argument(which was in the middle of the basement floor) intently, then fed the argument with comments like, 'Oh, you just got owned' and 'Would you like some ice with that burn?' and even made sizzling noises.

"Oh yeah?" Larxene said, and you could tell by the look on her face and by the tone of her voice she was getting annoyed, "Well, Reno, I bet there's one thing you can't do better than me!"

"Oh yeah?" He repeated, crossing his arms, "What's that?"

She smirked evilly, picked up the glass of water that Roxas had ordered and poured it over his head, "This."

"You know what, Larxene?" Reno then asked, trying to play it cool and tried not to be phased by the fact he was soaked, "I'm going to be the bigger one in this situation and just walk away..." He started to turn around, and then turned back to face Larxene, "And steal your costumers." He gave a very big grin as her face reddened in anger. Triumphantly, he spun around and then looked at the table he was going to serve.

Or, rather, the **people**, no, let me clarify that for you: **person** he was going to serve. In fact, that very person that Reno was so awed about was staring right back at him.

Finally, Roxas managed to get his mouth moving.

"AXEL?!?"

* * *

Predictable, no? Cheesy, yes? Well, I already wrote out questions before I accidentally hit the backspace button and it went back and I forgot to save and it LOST IT. So, due to my lazy self, I don't want to type down the questions again. 

Yeah, forgive the predictable-ness of the chapter. Oh, and that reminds me. The song that Roxas sings does NOT represent him and Nami. It represents a later event that will happen in the story. (-dramatic music- Dundundun...FORESHADOWING OH NOEZ IT'S COMING TO EAT YOUUUUUUUUU!)

So. Next time is sure to be lots of fun! Teehee. Sorry for Roxas' boring entrance and boring reactions and overall boring-ness. I promise he'll have a really awesome entrance next time he visits her. Forgive me for that, and for that I will be using chatspeak below.

Oh yeah..the dog snout and duck butt come from two characters in the game. (lol j/k)

Now that my moment of chatspeak is over...read, review, and I'll see you next time in...

-catchy theme-

Angels in Flight: Eien no Tobira

Episode 42: **A**lways on my Mind

(Chapter title subject to change)


	7. Always on my Mind

This reminds me...I always get mixed up with Roxas' title! Is it 'Key TO Destiny' or 'Key OF Destiny'? I dunno, I used Key of Destiny because it fit him a little better. But Key to Destiny sounds cooler, nyah. T.T

Thanks to Ellie, roxas-kh, lebrezie, Mekishika, Orika, kinmoku2, Sweeteen19, Random, -MOON-Kana and that's about it!

**Sora's Thoughts to Roxas**

_Roxas' Thoughts to Sora_

_**Thoughts Together**_

**Disclaimer:** The sky was gold, it was rose...and I don't own anything!

P.S. I LOVE RENO MORE THAN YOU :D

Angels in Flight: Eien no Tobira

Episode 42/7: **A**lways on my Mind

"Axel?" Larxene, Reks, Vaan, and Naminé questioned at the same time.

"Wait..." Larxene paused, shoving Reno out of the way. She then scrutinized Roxas for awhile, and her eyes widened. "Oh my god! Reno, this is..."

"Ven." Roxas quickly said, afraid that they might say his actual name. Which would cause confusion and maybe mistrust(since Vaan and Reks, both of which were silent along with Naminé, didn't like him anyway). "Wait a minute," He said, raising an eyebrow, "How come you remember me?"

"Ven?" Reno asked(shoving Larxene back out of the way), then laughed. "Oh yeah! I, well, he remembers that now. See, I still have both of mine." He then took off dogtags and handed them to Roxas. One of them was rusted over, but the other printed the name 'Terra' clearly.

"Does 'Aqua' have his?" Roxas asked, then laughed and handed the dogtags back to Reno, "Oh man, I remember what Elena did..."

"Elena?!?" Larxene grabbed Reno's shoulders and turned him around, "Reno, who is this Elena? You didn't tell me about her!"

"Awww, is little Larxy a little jealous?" Reno asked as Larxene's face heated up in anger.

"J-Jealous!" She 'hmphed' and crossed her arms, "Yeah right! Only in YOUR dreams would you ever be able to date a girl as hot as me!"

"Ha!" Reno replied, mimicking her, "I think you're underestimating these girls'," He gestured to all of the females in the room(most of them, excluding Naminé, fainted at this proclamation), "degree of attractive-ness."

The audience had returned(well, the males, anyway), and was now throwing their 'ooohhh, you just got burned' comments at Larxene, which just fed her anger. Some 'Fight!' chants began to rise from the bloodthristy audience.

Since she was too angry to speak, the blonde picked up the glass of soda that was on tray(that Naminé had ordered) and dumped it over his head(for the second time). "Reno," She finally managed to say, dumping the other two glasses over his head before he could react, "I hate you!" Larxene screamed, threw the tray(with the empty glasses on it) at him. Then, she ran away at a speed rivaling lightning.

"Woah!" Reno ducked quickly, and then noticed that the projectiles were heading over towards Roxas' table. He sighed, and suddenly his hair grew really spiky(as that happened, all of the water/soda on him turned to steam) and he touched the tray(it melted) and touched the glasses(they melted) before they hit the table. The melted liquid dropped and burned holes through the floor.

His hair smoothed down again and he sighed, "Damn, Xemnas is going to be pissed. Anyway, Rox--Ven, I'd like to talk to you afterwards for a...um..." Reno scratched his head, "Job interview. Oh yeah, sorry about your drinks. What would you all like to eat?"

-

"That was really good. What did you think of your meal, Naminé?" Roxas questioned as a busboy with the nametag 'Lexaeus' on it took away their dishes. (Roxas wanted to say something, but he figured not everyone remembered him)

"Besides the normal difficulties of eating food, I thought it was great!" She said happily. Reks and Vaan hadn't spoken a word since Roxas had recognized Reno and blurted out 'AXEL?!?'(Which, no one besides Sora questioned him on). In fact, she didn't even ask her brothers what they thought of the meal, which was odd.

Reno came back after Lexaeus had cleaned up their table. "Can I get any dessert for you guys?" They all shook their heads, "Okay. Ven...could I see you for a minute?"

Roxas nodded, got up, and turned to the three, "You guys can leave without me...I'll be a long time."

"Bye, Ven! I'll see you soon!" Naminé shouted as Reno dragged Roxas over to the elevator. The redhead pressed the 'up' button, and soon the elevator opened, revealing a doorman(except...for elevators) with the shiny golden nametag reading 'Xaldin'.

"Yo, Xal. Top floor, please." He said, as Xaldin pressed the floor number to thirteen.

"Hey, Axel," Roxas started, then corrected himself, "I meant Reno. Do some of the Organization members remember who I am? Ie--Zexion seemed to not remember who I am, and neither did Lexaeus, and Xaldin doesn't seem to..."

"First off, Zexion is emo so even if he did recognize you, he wouldn't say anything, and second of all, don't you remember Lexaeus' name?" Reno asked, looking at Roxas expectantly.

"The Silent Hero." He replied quickly, making the redhead nod.

"Exactly. Now, don't yo--" He started, but Xaldin cut him off and pushed a button that turned off the catchy elevator music.

"Reno. Don't you think you're revealing too much information to a stranger?" He asked. Before Reno could reply, Roxas did.

"I'm no stranger!" He barked.

"Ha! Where's your proof?" Xaldin 'hmphed' stopping the elevator at floor three and stepping out of the elevator. Reno rose an eyebrow, took Roxas' arm and dragged him out of the elevator. The floor was completely empty and it was all cement with a very high ceiling and beams and stuff like that. Like a battleground...

"...And lastly, Xaldin refuses to acknowledge you." Reno said with a sigh.

"Proof?!?" Roxas asked, getting mad at Xaldin's stubbornness, "Reno, give me a chakram. I'll show you your proof!"

Reno, transforming into Axel, did as he said. "Rox, what are you going to do?" Axel asked, crossing his arms and glancing over at Xaldin.

The blonde did not answer as he nicked his cheek with the tip of the chakram, causing a shallow wound to appear. He then(quite viciously, I might add) dug his fingers into the wound and peeled off the skin, with a completely straight face. Not even a twitch or a wince to show he felt the pain. After he did that, he wiped away some of the streaming blood to reveal the mechanics underneath.

'**EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW...'** Sora cried, reeling in disgust, '**EWWWWW! WHY WOULD YOU EVER HURT YOURSELF LIKE THAT! EWWWWWWWW! YOU JUST PEELED...EWWWWWWWWWWW! EW! EW! EW! THIS IS RATED-R MATERIAL! EWWWWWW! I'M ONLY SIXTEEN, Y'KNOW! EW EW EWWWWW!'**

'_Stop being a baby.'_ Roxas rolled his eyes and threw the chakram back to Axel, who caught it and it disappeared in a burst of flames.

"Ha! That proves nothing to me." Xaldin said, "Only that you may be a machine like the rest of us, so what? I'm sure there are plenty of towns who have somewhat genetically enhanced humans. Nothing to the real Organization's degree, I'm afarid."

Roxas just glared at him, placing his hands over his wound and saying, "_'O Kurukushitaarichikitoji lukishiku molu takiluku! CURE!'_" A glow emitted from his hands and his skin magically replaced itself and the bleeding stopped. However, there were still blood stains on his white clothes, which made Sora grimace.

'**If you can do things like that, why can't you heal Nadine's sight or something?**' Sora questioned. Roxas decided to ignore him, at least, until after Xaldin stopped being such a donkey.(Well, he kind of looked like one, so it was understandable...)

"So," Roxas said, after he healed himself(Axel did not seem surprised, and Xaldin masked his awe with an aura of superiority meant to intimidate the blonde), "what WILL convince you that I AM Roxas, Number XIII and the Key of Destiny of the Organization made up of Thirteen Biological Weapons created for the sole purpose of serving as the trump cards of the Kingdom Tsugare but disliked the reason why they were chosen and wanted to kill the royal family?" He said smugly. No one BUT a member could've known THAT.

Xaldin twitched, "I still don't believe you! Roxas died a long, long time ago...fight me, imposter! If you manage to survive my wrath MAYBE I'll acknowledge you..." He said confidently, lances appearing around him as the wind began to pick up inside the room. Fortunately, the floor, walls, beams, and ceilings were designed for such a thing and were not blowing away. Axel had to stick a chakram in the cement floor to keep from flying away, but Roxas just made four of his six wings appear to keep him balanced. The other two he used as his keyblades, the Oblivion and Oathkeeper.

It was hard, even for Roxas, to move against the wind so he decided to stay put. Xaldin threw four lances at him. Roxas' keyblades disappeared and formed into the other pair of his wings as he grabbed two lances and jumped nimbly on top of the other two. He then threw the lances at Xaldin, grabbing the lances he was standing on and then teleporting on top of the ones he threw at Xaldin. Before anyone knew what happened, Roxas had kicked the lance-bearing member to the ground and had both lances pointed at his throat.

"I was expecting a fight," Roxas said, shaking his head like it was a pity, "And this is all you give me?"

Xaldin growled and in a sudden burst of wind, the blonde was thrown towards the ceiling(as was Axel, but we'll concentrate on him another time). However, he managed to reach out and grab a beam, using his wings to flip himself so that he was crouched on it. Since the blast of wind had disoriented him a little bit, Sora was the first to break the news.

'**Dude...you're UPSIDE DOWN.'** He said. Roxas blinked, looking down. He wasn't surprised that he had fought gravity and won(how ELSE would his hair manage to stay so spiky?) but he was just surprised that...well, he was staying up there. In fact, he was SO shocked that he let go and down he went.

It took Roxas a while to remember he was an angel and has full utilization over his six wings. Flapping them like mad, he managed to get situated in the air, which he then looked down at the ground to see where Xaldin was. However, he could not find the man. "Where'd he go?" He asked, looking around.

"ROXAS! ABOVE YOU!" Axel shouted. He looked above him, to see Xaldin flying towards him. However, he did not have time to fly or teleport(which really would've been the smartest thing to do, but alas, we know he is lacking in brain cells) away before Xaldin fell ontop of them, making them both crash into the floor. Roxas managed to get the big guy off of him before he got crushed under his weight.

"Are you trying to kill me?!?" He asked, realizing that during their fall, the lance-wielder had stuck one of his weapons right through the blonde's chest. And he didn't even seem _phased_ by the fact a lance was sticking through his abdomen, which completely amazed Sora. AND the fact that he was still conscious and not feeling anything amazed him even more!

'**I swear, Roxas...you act like you're not human...'** Sora mumbled in disbelief.

'_That's because I'm _**not** _human. I used to be, but...'_ Roxas sighed, taking out the lance and making more blood gush out(**'Be careful! That's my blood, too!'**), _'...I'm not anymore. I'm not human anymore...'_

"Ugh, I'm ruining my clothes. Do you know how HARD it is to get blood out of clothes?" Roxas mumbled, "Aerith is going to worry, and then Olette is going to worry because Aerith is going to worry, and then Cloud is going to kill me for making Aerith and Olette worry, so I will repeat my question for you, Xaldin, ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME?!?" He shouted all in one breath.

"I am not trying to kill you. I am merely fighting you as I would anyone else, and if you get killed then it is simply your weakness." Xaldin said, and Roxas huffed.

"If you're aiming to kill, of COURSE you're going to win." He said, shaking his head, "First to get knocked out loses. Got it?"

The older(well, in appearance, anyway) member sighed, "Very well."

"Axel," Roxas turned to Axel, to find that he was on one of the beams, "You be the referee."

"Gotcha, Rox!"

The blonde took a deep breath and turned back to Xaldin, who created another gust of wind his way. Roxas avoided it by teleporting behind him, summoning the Oblivion and Oathkeeper, and slashing at him. However, Xaldin just whipped around and blocked it with his lances.

'**Roxas, I have a question. If Xaldin can control wind, and if Alex or whoever controls heat, then what do YOU control?'** Sora asked.

'_First off, it's AXEL. You have a really hard time with names, don't you? Second off, he controls fire, and thirdly, I control the light.'_ He said,_ 'Like this.'_

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a beam of blinding light shot up from beneath Xaldin. "GRAH!" He cried, clutching his eyes, "I can't see!"

'**That's awesome! Can you do anything else?!?'** Sora asked, excited that Roxas wasn't the standard 'flowers-and-rainbows' angel.

'_Tons more. I suppose I could go all out, although it would be a waste...'_ Roxas trailed off, _'Maybe if you beg...'_

'**Oh please, Oh Almighty Lord the Illustriously Eminent and Very Powerful and So-Handsome-He'll-Blind-You-With-a-Smile the King of the World Roxas the Great in all of His Glory Who is the Supreme Ruler of All That is Associated with Light and is the Exact Personification of All That is Pure and Holy and Good and Virtuous and Other Good Adjectives I Can't Think of!'** Sora begged, which made Roxas laugh.

'_What a suck-up. Fine, I'll do it.'_ He said, jumping away from Xaldin so there was some distance between them. "Power!" He shouted, the Oathkeeper disappearing from his hands so that he was handling the Oblivion with both of his hands, "Give me STRENGTH!" Then, he stuck the Oblivion deep in the ground and then with tremendous force, took the Oblivion out of the ground. This caused a large rift in the ground, and the floor completely cracked open. The finale was that light gushed out of the fissure. Anyone standing under the fissure would be thrown into the ceiling due to the momentum of the light, and anyone looking straight into the light(aside from Roxas, of course) would be blinded almost instantly.

Fortunately, Axel was smart enough to cover his eyes. Xaldin managed to close them before he was blinded, but the sudden burst of light was so hot it burned him slightly, and it knocked him to the ceiling but when he fell he was out of the way of the fissure, which, by the way, revealed the second floor. When the light died down, Roxas was in his silver cloak, signifying he was in his 'Final Form'. He was floating a little as well.

Xaldin blinked, rubbing his eyes and looking at the rift in the floor, and then at Roxas' immensely powerful form. "I will win!" He growled, confident that he'd beat the blonde. His lances then formed into a dragon-like contraption, and it was flying near the ceiling, creating whirlwinds on the floor.

Roxas, fearing for the safety of the people on the floor below(since they were now exposed) looked to Axel and yelled atop of the winds, "Get Lexaeus and see if he can fix this!" Axel nodded and was about to jump down from the beam he was on, when the elevator opened. Roxas, Axel, and Xaldin(and his dragon) stopped dead. The wind ceased.

Out stepped an eyepatched man with black hair in a ponytail. He looked around, "Oops, wrong floor. Sorry dudes," He was about to step in, when his eye happened to fall upon Roxas, who froze.

Axel jumped down from the beam he was on, and walked towards the eyepatched man, whose nametag read 'Xigbar', not sure of how his reaction would be. "Xigbar, this is--"

"No, I got this, Axel." Xigbar said, staring at Roxas, which made him slightly uncomfortable. "I know it, I know it! Just give me some time...wait, waiiiit, it's coming to me..."

'**This guy's a sped!'** Sora shouted, **'God, if he can't remember YOUR name...'**

'_It HAS been two thousand years, Sora. Not many people are gifted with a memory like that...'_ Roxas replied, sighing.

"It's...uh..." Xigbar snapped his fingers, "the angel, I remember that...the angel that was..." Xigbar seemed to think for a moment, "...in love with the Princess! What was your name, again?" Roxas opened his mouth to say his name, but Xigbar stopped him, "WAIT! I know this! It's coming to me!"

Xaldin, who had dropped down from his lance dragon(which disappeared), yelled, "Xigbar, he's not an actual member! He's an imposter!"

"I'M NOT AN IMPOSTER!" Roxas yelled, turning back to Xaldin, his 'Final Form' going away, "Stop saying that! I was one of the original thirteen..."

"Oh yeah! I remember now!" Xigbar shouted, "Saxor, the Lock of Free Will!" Axel started to laugh, and it made Roxas wonder whether he was being serious or just trying to be funny.

"No," Roxas said, deciding to give him the benefit of the doubt, "It's Roxas, the Key of Destiny."

"Ooooh, that's right!" Xigbar said, "Are you here to join the Castle Oblivion Staff?"

"Not really..."

"Aw, dude," Xigbar shook his head, "It's fun. Comes with entertainment." The blonde gave him a weird look, so Xigbar said, "Y'know, Larxene and Axel's fights. It amuses us other members because we know they are hopelessly in love("Are not," mumbled Axel) and the only way they can get out their passion is by getting into their nasty quarrels." He then noticed Roxas' chest wound, which was still bleeding. "Dude, do you need any help?"

"We're going up to the Superior's place now," Axel said casually, "He's the one with all the bandages."

"Why?" Roxas asked, remembering he had been wounded in his chest(**'How could you ****forget?**** You're freakin' BLEEDING, man!'**), and looked down. "That's weird," He mumbled, "Usually when I transform into my Final Form, my wounds disappear..."

"Because usually when Larxene and Reno or I get into a fight, kunais are involved and people tend to get hurt, and Xemnas likes to know when we argue so he carries all of the bandages." Axel explained as he went into the elevator and dragged Roxas along with him. Xaldin hopped into the elevator and pressed the floor number thirteen, which was the highest floor.(accidentally leaving Xigbar behind)

"Why do you guys fight in the first place?" Roxas asked, "Did you guys used to date?"

Axel looked at him like he was on drugs. "I'll admit it, Larxene is a pretty face, but she has a wretched personality..." He trailed off.

"Does Reno feel the same way about Larxene?" The blonde asked, but Axel avoided the question because the elevator somehow seemed to be at the thirteenth floor already. The elevator opened and the redhead walked out, with the blonde following.

The thirteenth floor was a long hallway with a white carpet and large columns, and then white double doors at the end. There were precisely seven columns on each side, and they were evenly spaced. Between the columns, were different colored doors. "That's where we reside." Axel explained, "You can tell who's room is whose by what color it is, right?"

"But there are fourteen doors." Roxas said slowly, "I'm not living here, so who gets the extra two?"

"One is used by Larxene which is locked, and she only has the key, and the other..." Axel paused, thinking for a moment, "You know what, good question. I'll have to ask." Then, they reached the double doors. Axel was about to open them, but heard muffled noises. He pressed his ear to a door and Roxas did the same.

"...Superior, are you telling me there's no way to help Lightning?" You could hear Larxene say.

"Larxene, I'm not saying that. I'm already helping you out tremendously. Unlike other members, you don't have to pay rent for your rooms..." The Superior, Xemnas, could be heard saying.

"But she needs it! Please, I'm willing to do anything! I'll work for free! Please, Superior, I'm asking you!"

Axel seemed very surprised. "Larxene...BEGGING? WOAH, Lightning must be really important to her..." He whispered to Roxas, who nodded. Back then, he could never remember Larxene's 'other' begging or pleading or anything.

"You could always ask Reno. You know how he's that heir to Shinra..." Xemnas trailed off, and Roxas sent Axel a quizzical look.

"Shinra is the only Electrical company in all of the world, they run the computers and things...Reno's the adopted son of the owner, Rufus Shinra. You could say my other is EXTREMELY wealthy..." Axel said, and was about to say something else, but Roxas couldn't hear what he said due to Larxene's shrieking.

"I HATE HIM!" She yelled in fury, "I HATE HIM, I HATE HIM, I HATE HIM! I would rather strangle myself than accept help from him! He--"

"Alright, alright, I get it, I get it. It became clear that you hate him because you cannot agree with him on anything, even if you know he is right." Xemnas said, but his words were not heard by Larxene, who was still yelling at the top of her lungs.

Actually, her voice was so ear-shattering(loud like lightning) that Roxas, Axel, and Xemnas were more concentrated on protecting their sense of hearing than hearing what Larxene was yelling about.

'**God, how many times can a girl say she hates a guy?'** Sora asked, but could barely hear Roxas' answer. Once Larxene stopped screaming, everyone took a deep breath.

"Larxene, I will look your situation over. Please, calm down and take the rest of the day off. You are dismissed, twelve." Xemnas said, and Larxene opened up the doors, seeing Roxas and Axel outside of them.

They glanced at each other. "Oh no..." They groaned. They looked back at Larxene, whose face was red from anger, and she looked like she was about to cry. She did not seem to even see Roxas. Only Axel.

"YOU," She started, glaring at him with the ferocity rivaling...actually, nothing could rival her ferocity right now. Sparks started to cackle maniacally and the air suddenly became really static-y. Lightning began to flash spasmodically in the room, "YOU HAVE THE...THE...THE..._**AUDACITY,"**_ At this, Axel had to dodge some lightning and some kunais sent his way, "TO EAVESDROP ON ME! WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT FROM MY LIFE!" She screamed, "YOU'RE RICH, YOU HAVE PARENTS, YOU HAVE THE PERFECT _**LIFE, **_YOU POMPOUS PRINCE! AND YOU DECIDE TO SHOVE IT IN MY FACE BY WORKING _**HERE**_!"

Axel was purely shocked. He opened his mouth to say something, but could think of nothing that would calm her rage. Besides, if he said anything, even if it was 'I'm sorry' it would probably hurt her pride. All he could do was just bear it.

"I..." Larxene screamed again, stepping closer to Axel and he got struck by lightning. He winced, feeling the shock. The lightning had charred his hair and his clothes, but Axel didn't mind because when you control fire, you get used to getting charred, "..._**HATE**_ YOU!" Then, with all of the force she could muster, and with all of her electricity charged into her hand, she slapped him across the face.

She then ran into her room, shut the door, and probably locked it. The static from the air faded away, and all became serene again. With the exception of Axel's appearance and his REALLY red cheek, it was like Larxene had never even blown up.

"...He didn't...know..." Axel started, in disbelief that the event had transpired, "...Reno didn't know Larxene felt that strongly. We never knew she was poor, we never knew she didn't have parents...we never knew what her life was like. It was our fault we assumed she lived as luxuriously as we did." He sighed, rubbing his cheek and wincing in pain. From the open doors the white-haired, golden-eyed leader of the Organization, Xemnas emerged.

He looked at Axel and sighed, "Axel, you never knew about Larxene's past, right?" The redhead nodded, "She never wanted you to know, and for a good reason. Forget what you just heard."

"But--" Axel started, but Xemnas cut him off.

"Eight, I'm giving you orders."

"If you want me to take you seriously, stop calling me that!" Axel growled.

"Flurry of Dancing Flames, I'm giving you orders," Xemnas ordered, "Unless you would like Six to erase your memory..."

"Memory-erasing?" Roxas suddenly piped up, "That was Naminé's talent!"

Xemnas slowly turned around to face Roxas. He stared at him for a moment, before looking at his chest wound, "You're bleeding."

Axel gasped, "NOOOOO. Wow, just when I thought you were actually smart, Mansex."

Xemnas spun around and glared at him, "Eight! You forget that I am your Superior."

"Whatever. I can tell you're still grumpy because we can summon and you ca--an't." Axel said in a sing-song voice. Roxas was puzzled. Summon? No, that couldn't mean what he thought it meant...

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"It's a complicated situation. I'll explain if Xemnas would be so kind as to not let you bleed to death." Axel said sweetly, making Xemnas groan(you just couldn't win with Axel) and turn to Roxas.

"Thirteen, come inside. I have bandages there, and Axel can tell you the story."

-

"You see, what happened, was that when Naminé was released, we were all released as well. We inhabited people who bore similar appearances, personalities, goals, and abilities. However, eleven out of the twelve died during the transition sequence. But they still have the abilities of the original Organization." Axel explained, and Roxas nodded.

"But what are these 'summoning' things?" Roxas asked.

"Well, you know the aeons the Eien no Tobira, Bahamut, and the Towa no Shirube, Shiva..." Axel trailed off, and Roxas nodded, "Six of us, including you, can summon each of the powerful aeons. Got it memorized?"

Roxas blinked, scratching his head, "What members can summon?"

"You, me, Larxy, Zexion, Demyx, and Marluxia can. I can summon Ifrit, the firey Kojou no Hachimenreirou, Larxy can summon the Rai no Kage, Ixion, Marluxia can summon the Hanazono no Sora('**That's my name, don't wear it out!'** Sora chirped happily, which made Roxas mumble_ 'Idiot'_), Valefor, Zexion can summon the perky Magus Sisters, the Shizukana Yoru ni, and Demyx can summon the Towa no Shirube herself, Shiva." Axel said, and then took a deep breath.

"What about me and Sora?" Roxas asked.

**'What are these aeons?'** Sora questioned.

_'Back in the day, the Kingdoms each had a manifestation of their Kingdom, called an Aeon. Tsugare was special--it had two. The only person who could summon them back then was Queen Yuna of Tsugare. But to think, we can call that kind of power to ourselves!...Unbelievable!'_ Roxas muttered. The brunette just decided he'd ask for a more thorough expanation later.

"Sora and _**I," **_Xemnas muttered, pulling Roxas' bandages a little too tight, which made him glare at his Superior, who just tightened the bandages some more.

Axel laughed and threw his hands up in the air and shrugged, "How am I supposed to know? You've never summoned before!"

Roxas blinked, about to say something, when the transformation wore off. Sora, being human, immediately felt the pain. "Ah! OW OW OW OW OWWWWW!" He moaned, "Argh, you guys have got some 'splaining to do!"

"_**Ex**_plaining," Xemnas corrected, pulling Sora's bandages tightly, which made Sora whip around and whack Xemnas on the top of the head with his automatically summoned keyblade. The Superior glared at him, and Sora laughed uneasily.

"Haha, sorry..." He apologized, then added, "Reflexes."

"Sorry, it _**was**_ reflexes." Xemnas corrected, pulling his bandages even tighter, and for a moment, Sora's breath was cut off it was so tight.

"Dude," Sora said, taking a deep breath, "You tryin' to kill me?!?"

"Dude," Xemnas corrected, "_**Are**_," A pull, "you tryin_**g**_," yet another one, "to kill me?"

"I don't like you!" Sora shouted, "I don't want you wrapping my wound! Have," Sora suddenly had a lapse in memory and forgot Axel's name, "What's-his-face do it!"

Axel laughed nervously, "I'm not too sure you'd want me to do that, Sora..."

"At least," Sora glanced at Xemnas and chose his words carefully, "You won't hurt me like SOME PEOPLE DO!"

Axel laughed nervously, "I'm not really good with all of that healing wounds and stuff...You know what, I'm going to see if Larxy has calmed down yet." He then transformed back into Reno, "See ya!"

"W-Wait!" Sora called out, not wanting to leave the care of his injuries to Xemnas, "WHAT'S-HIS-FACE! COME BACK!"

As Reno left the room(and shut the doors behind him) he sighed and wondered if he really should go to Larxene and see how she was doing.

'_I think that'd be right thing to do, Reno.'_ Axel commented. Trusting the judgement of Axel(which, believe me when I say this, was not a thing Reno did often, and for a good reason, too), Reno walked up to Larxene's room, and hesitated.

'**Are you sure?...I'm not as capable as you are, if she strikes me with lightning I could die.'** Reno said, his hand hovered over the door.

'_Don't think, act. One of life's little rules.'_ Axel said.

'_**Got it memorized?'**_ They both said at the same time. Reno knew Axel well enough to know when he was going to say his catchphrase. Anyway, so Axel temporarily took control, quickly knocked on the door, and then control switched to Reno, who gulped.

A slightly calmed down, but still angry, Larxene answered the door. She stared at Reno, and when he was about to say something, she shut the door in his face.

"Well, that's rude." Reno mumbled, scratching his head.

'_Yeah!'_ Axel agreed, _'Are you just going to take that?'_

'**...Yes?'** He answered, unsure of what to say. It was obviously the wrong answer by the way Axel was sighing and groaning and moaning.

'_You were supposed to say 'no', and with some enthusiasm.'_ Axel replied.

'**Well I'm sorry, Oh Great Overlord of Fire.'** Reno muttered sarcastically.

'_Damn right I am!'_ He agreed. With, for the umpteenth time today, another sigh, Reno knocked on the door. The door swung open violently, so much so that if he hadn't jumped out of the way, he might be plastered against the wall like a sticker.

"**What?**" Larxene asked venomously. At least she wasn't sparking, that was good. Reno wasn't really phased by her poisonous tone of voice, he had gotten used to it.

"About earlier--"

"What about earlier?" She cut him off, crossing her arms, "If you're trying to apologize, don't bother because I'm not going to forgive you." She then shut the door, but Reno managed to stick a foot in it(ignoring the jolt of pain that shot up his leg) and he hopped inside of her room.

"I didn't know--" He started, before she cut him off(again).

"Get out of my room," The blonde said, narrowing her eyes, "before I hurt you, Reno!"

"I will," He promised, "but only if you listen to my side of the story."

"Whatever. You have two minutes." She said, clocking it.

"Okay, first off, I'm really sorry. I didn't know, Larxene, please believe me on that. I didn't know you had no parents, and if it makes you feel any better, I never really knew mine, either. Rufus isn't my real father, he's my adopted one. When I 'inherited' Axel when I was four, a fire broke out in my house and it killed my whole family including my little sister, my father, my mother...everyone." Reno said, remembering that day very clearly.

Axel sighed, _'I'm sorry, Reno...'_ He apologized, but he knew that no apology could make up for loss of family.

"Well," Larxene crossed her arms, "At least you knew your family. I never knew mine...I was left in an orphanage as a newborn. However, no one adopted me. No one ever loved me. But you, Reno, you got adopted right off of the bat by the famous and rich trillionaire, Rufus, because you came out of that burning building **without any burns. **He only adopted you because everyone thought you were superhuman. Of course," She laughed and grinned maliciously, "I'd rather have no love than artificial love, Reno."

'_Ouch,'_ Axel said, refraining from any 'you just got burned' comments. But he was used to it, Reno had enough arguments with Larxene to know that she used low blows. Of course it hurt, but he wasn't about to go and leave her room(because that was what she wanted him to do) because if he did that, then he would leave and then she wouldn't take anything he had just said to her seriously.

"So, the reason why you don't like me is because I have money and you don't?" Reno asked, forgetting what Xemnas had said about forgetting what he had heard through the door. After Larxene had blown up at him, he doubted she would forget he had eavesdropped.

"No. It's because you are a cocky, vain, and selfish person who only thinks of himself!" Larxene snapped.

Reno huffed, crossing his arms,"Speak for yourself."

She glared at him, then said, "Excuse me?!?"

"You heard me!" Reno replied, "What do you think of that, Ant?"

Larxene just glared at him venomously, "You know how I hate that, Red!"

"Red?" Reno laughed, "That was the best you could come up with?"

"Don't push it!" She growled, looking him over to see if she could poke any fun at him with his looks. Instead, Larxene grinned to herself, and in a movement as fast as lightning, his goggles were in her hands.

"L-Larxene!" Reno's eyes widened, feeling the top of his head to make sure they were really gone. She just cackled and ran out of the room. "You...You give those back, Larxene!"

Larxene turned around, having the goggles on. "You know, I think I like these. I might keep them, Reno, thanks!" She turned back around and was gone in a flash of lightning. The redhead sighed, knowing he had no choice but to try and catch her before his goggles got contaminated or something. Knowing Larxene, she was probably going to dip them in a toilet or something.

"LARXENE!" Reno shouted, only able to see a flash of yellow and black every now and then, "YOU GET BACK HERE, LARXENE!" He was chasing her down all thirteen flights of stairs, until he didn't see the blur of black-and-yellow anymore. However, he kept on running, in fear that she might have gotten that ahead of him. He suddenly felt someone trip him, and down all three(thank god he was on the fourth floor!) flights of stairs he tumbled. It had to be Larxene that tripped him, it had to be.

When he came crashing to the bottom of the stairs, Zexion sent him a strange look. "What are you doing?" He said in that normal, monotone voice of his.

Reno, breathless, and quite angry because he could've killed himself! "Where," He slapped the podium(which made Zexion jump back slightly), "Is LARXENE?!?"

"Oh, she stood you up again, huh?" Zexion chuckled, "When will you realize--"

"No, that's NOT it!" Cried an agitated Reno, slamming his fist on the reservation book that was on the little desk, which made the poor emo boy jump back a little in fear of the redhead. "She never stood me up, she had a dentist appointment that day that she forgot about!"

The Cloaked Schemer just rolled his eyes, "Sure she did. By the way, you're missing your goggles."

"I'M. WELL. AWARE." Reno hissed.

"Well, if I see La--There she is." Zexion nodded his head towards where the blonde girl was. Reno turned around, to find the electric-blue-eyed girl throwing his goggles up in the air and catching them.

"Larxene! Enough with your little game!" Reno snapped, "Give me my goggles back!"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk..." Larxene shook her head, "What an impatient little boy. Why can't you lighten up and have some fun, Reno?"

"I'm not 'little'." Reno said, and as if to prove his point, he straightened up and made sure he was standing at his full hieght(since he usually slouched a little). He had at least half a foot over Larxene, "I'm TALLER than you, genius."

"Was that directed at me?" Zexion interjected.

The blonde laughed, "Good one, Zexion."

Reno just growled, "Whose side are you on, man?" The Cloaked Schemer just shrugged in reply, but by the look on his face, he had gotten amusement out of that, too.

"Anyway, I'm taller than you." Reno said, making sure he was directing it at Larxene and that there was no way you could possibly think he was talking to you unless you were dropped on your head when you were little.(Maybe that's what happened to Sora...oops, Aerith is a butterfingers!)

"But you're younger." Larxene said, crossing her arms, "I'm nineteen."

"Yo, then that means I'm smarter!" Reno said triumphantly, grinning.

"I'm only fifteen, and I'm a Senior with you guys." Zexion piped up. It was true, the kid WAS a genius. If it weren't for his senile parents, he would probably would have finished college already.

"Zexion, stay out of this! This is our fight!" He just replied, turning back to Larxene. "Give me my goggles back!"

"You said 'fight'?" She asked interestingly, placing them on her head again, "Then let's dance, Reno!"

"N-No! I-I-I...I don't fight girls! It's against my morals!" He spluttered.

Larxene just sighed, "You are so boring, Reno. Must you take the fun out of everything?"

He was quick to reply with a 'YES!'

She just sighed again and shook her head, taking the goggles off and tossing them to him. "I don't know why I'm letting you off the hook("Because you love him, duh," Zexion mumbled) but next time this won't happen!"

"Next time? There won't be a next-time!" Reno said confidently, placing his goggles ontop of his head like a crown.

"Ha! We'll see about that." With that, she was gone in a flash in lightning.

The redhead turned around to Zexion, knowing a smart remark was going to come out of his mouth, "DON'T.SAY.IT."

He turned back around, when the Cloaked Schemer just had to emit a small, barely audible, "Lover's quarrel."

"WE ARE **NOT** LOVERS!" Reno exclaimed, turning back around to face possibly the only member with common sense on the Organization, "WE WERE NEVER--"

"Except for the time she stood you up," Zexion interrupted. He just sighed in agitation, and took a deep breath, not wanting to get into an argument with Zexion. Along with Axel, that was just one person who you could argue with and never win.

"She did not stand me up," Reno said calmly, "She had a dentist appointment. And even then, it was NOT a date, it was a calm, casual, 'learning experience'."

"With popcorn, pizza, and the T.V. set to _Lifetime..._ Zexion added, "Right."

"Okay, first off, _Lifetime_ was her idea--"

"That should've been the first hint that she was going to stand you up. Larxene doesn't like chick flicks that they always show on there." Zexion said(wait, how would HE know?), mumbling, "But, of course, you were blinded by love..." Fortunately, the redhead did not hear that remark.

"How would you know that unless you've DATED HER YOURSELF?" Reno asked curiously, "Oh, is our quiet little emo hiding a dirty little secret?" Zexion's face turned about as red as his questioner's hair, giving the questioner himself the answer. "No way! You HAVE dated Larxene! You...You punk! How come you, three years younger than me, can date her whereas I, who is more mature than you("In your dreams, Reno," Zexion muttered) can't even lay a finger on her without being shocked!"

"AH-HA!" Zexion exclaimed, showing a sudden burst of life Reno had not seen in the emo EVER, "So you DO like Larxene! I knew it!"

Reno slapped his forehead, not believing he fell for Zexion's trap, "WHY DOES EVERYONE THINK THAT?" Knowing that he would NEVER win(because his idiot co-members would NEVER let up on the false, unverified, completely biased fact that they liked each other. Now, whereas they both looked good as a COUPLE, they did NOT, and they say they will never, go out, or ever...'like' each other. Especially in the lovey-dovey way) he just sighed and went into the elevator.

"You can't hide what's inside, Reno..." Zexion said, but before the redhead could retaliate, the elevator closed.

Fifteen minutes later, Sora came stumbling out of the elevator. He went up to Zexion and said, "Hey, you're Zeon, right?"

"Zexion." The boy corrected, casting an uninterested glance towards him. "What do you want?"

"Did some kinda fight go down here or something?" Sora asked curiously, "Because in the elevator, what's-his-face was mumbling about how he wanted to crush your face and then feed it to goats."

"Feed it to goats?" Zexion laughed, "How juvenile. No wonder Larxene thinks he's a joke."

"Awww, that's mean." Sora said, frowning, "I think they look good together!"

Number Six sighed, "Join the club." He said in his normal monotonous tone of voice.

"There's a club?!?" Sora asked excitedly, "I want to join!"

"Sorry," He replied, "It isn't open to people who have a negative IQ."

"WHAT? Are you calling me," Sora paused for a moment, ('_An IQ is something that measures your intelligence,'_ Roxas explained_.) "_Stupid?!?"

"In a way, yes. By the way, an IQ is an Intelligence Quota." Zexion added, and Sora's mouth dropped open.

"Whoaaaa! What else do you know?!?" He asked, amazed at the younger boy's superior intellect.

"A lot of things. The word phosphorescent derives from the element phosphorus because of it's glowing nature, the prefix _'tele' _menas far away...like 'telekinesis' actually means 'far-away moving', telephone is 'far-away talking', television is 'far-away seeing', and so on, so forth..." Zexion was about to go on and say what else he knew(which was an endless amount of facts), but Sora stopped him.

"Okay, don't rub it in. I'll see you guys later! I have to get back." Sora waved, shouted 'BYE!' and then walked out.

"Now," He said, once outside, "How do we get out of here?"

_'You're hopeless.'_

**'Am not!'**

_'Are we honestly going to start this again?'_

**'YES. Unless you admit I'm not hopeless, which I'm NOT!'**

_'You are too.'_

**'Are not!'**

_'Are too!'_

**'Are not!'**

_'Hey, genius, 'are not' is improper grammar.'_

**'Well I'm sor-ry, Mini Mansex!'**

_'H-Hey! That was uncalled for!'_

**'Calling me hopeless was uncalled for!'**

_'But you ARE hopeless!'_

**'Mansex Jr.!'**

_'Hopeless Von Schnauzer!'_

**'What the heck?!?'**

_'Yeah, you heard me.'_

**'Oh yeah, Mansex McSexman?!?'**

Roxas thought for a moment, _'Weak of heart!'_

**'No, you DID not, Mansex McSexman.'**

_'Oh yeah I did, Wussy Von Hopeless-Schnauzer.'_

**'Okay, this means WAR!'**

_'Bring it on!'_

**'Oh, it's been BROUGHT.'**

* * *

Thus concludes the end of this chapter! So, Happy All Hallows' Eve and All Saints' Day, guys!(The two Holidays with the coolest names EVER) What were you for All Hallows' Eve? I was a fortuneteller!

Anyway, next chapter the gang will be back at school! Some surprises next chapter, for sure! (Well, I hope so, anyway...You can never have too many surprises!) Um...yeah, sorry I had to end the chapter the same way twice/thrice(I forgot how many times).

So yes...:D Stay tuned and REVIEW! You never know, if you're dedicated enough, you just -MIGHT- get a character named after you! (And MAYBE the other characters I've made up for you will come back:D)

So yeah, read, review, love it, enjoy it!


	8. The Toll of Time

Thanks to roxas-kh, allensXoneXfiancee, RedWolf17, BlueFox of the Moon, Sweeteen19, Random, lebrezie, Ellie, Orika, Mekishika, kinmoku, piri-sama, and anyone else I happen to be forgetting! I love you all(figuratively, of course)! Couldn't continue without you guys!

Disclaimer: This is why, this is why, this is why I'm hot...I'm hot cause I don't OWN ANYTHING(not even Pacman, Soulja Boy, any of the club's songs or Mortal Kombat!), you ain't cause you not, this is why, this is why, this is why I'm hot...

Angels in Flight: Eien no Tobira

Chapter 43/8: **T**he Toll of Time(Aftermath of Two Thousand Years, Part 1)

Homeroom was going along smoothly. Except for the oddity that Riku was actually IN homeroom today(and on time, to boot!), everything seemed normal. Sora was chatting up a storm with Kairi and Riku, and Olette was talking to Pence and Hayner, as usual.

Their homeroom teacher, Seymour, cleared his throat especially loudly, to get his students' attention(not that his outrageously outrageous hairdo didn't get enough attention as is). But it did not work. He did it again, but everyone still continued to talk. He sighed and stood up, walking in the front of the room, and "AHEM!"-ed loudly.

The students glanced at him, and as soon as he took a breath, they continued talking. Seymour narrowed his eyebrows in frustration and practically screamed, "ATTENTION!"

Riku jumped at this sudden loud noise and looked around cautiously, afraid it was his mass quantity of fangirls. Relieved it was not, he sighed and turned his attention to Seymour, where everyone else's was as well.

"Thank you. Now that I have your attention, I am proud to introduce you to your very own Student Body President and the Student Council!" Seymour said, walking away as the door opened to reveal twelve people wearing black cloaks(**'Ohmygosh, Roxas, THEY STOLE YOUR STYLE! That is like...vandalizing your sense of fasion! Or something!'**) and someone else in the front of the twelve.

As soon as they entered, the homeroom erupted in cheers and screams. Sora joined in with all of the excitement, but all of the noise made Riku nervous because you know, the standard fangirl protocol is 'scream-and-attack!'. Just as a precaution, he hid under his desk.

"In case any of do not know who I am, I am Larsa Solidor, your Student Body President." The raven-haired boy began, and Sora flinched, only because he did not expect Roxas' screaming.

'_THAT'S HIM! THAT'S HIM! THAT'S THAT MURDEROUS, HEARTLESS, COLD, PATHETIC EXCUSE OF A PERSON! THAT'S THE MAN WHO KILLED HER! THAT'S HIM! WHY--'_ Roxas went off on a very angry tangent about how they should kill Larsa and whatever.

Sora glanced over at Olette who was staring at Sora in shock, in disbelief that Roxas could hold so much anger. She mouthed 'Tell him to calm down! I need to hear Larsa!' to Sora, and although the azure-eyed boy could not read lips, his 'twin telepathy' helped him understand.

'**Roxas--'**

'_--AND HE STRANGLED HER! JUST TO GET RULE OVER HER KINGDOM! HE MURDERED HER! IT WAS __MURDER!'_

'**ROXAS!'** Sora screamed, trying hard not to say anything out loud. Hearing nothing from the blonde, he sighed and continued, **'Roxas, PLEASE CALM DOWN. This isn't the guy who killed Nadine!'**

'_IT HAS TO BE!'_ The enraged angel replied, _'IT LOOKS LIKE HIM! HE HAS HIS LAST NAME! IT'S HIM! HE'S COME BACK FOR HER! I WILL __NEVER__ LET THAT--'_

'**ROXAS!'** the brunette screamed again, **'It is probably his descendant or something. JUST because Larsa is a descendant of Vayne DOES NOT mean he is exactly the same! I mean, just look at fath--Cloud! Is he exactly like your brother?'**

'_No,'_ Roxas replied, taking deep breaths to force himself to calm down, _'I suppose you're right. But-- But_ _why? Why is he HERE?'_

Larsa smiled and looked over the class, his eyes stopping on Kairi for a moment, who shifted in her seat and flipped her perfectly flattened hair. Sora's mouth dropped open, and then he shut it and clenched his fists. **'THAT LITTLE PIMP! STEALING ****MY ****GIRL! WE ARE ****NOT**** FRIENDS ANYMORE!'**

'_See! I TOLD you he was bad news!'_ Roxas mumbled.

"A-Anyway," Larsa continued, looking slightly disturbed more than anything, "I shall now introduce to you our Student Council!"

The twelve robed people let down their hoods, revealing Larxene, Reno(whom were glaring at each other), Zexion, Xaldin, and everyone else. Larsa stepped to the side, "This is the Student Council Advsior, Xemnas." He introduced as the golden-eyed Superior stepped forward, seeming not to hear the funny parodies of his name being called out.

"It is a pleasure to meet all of you. I am Xemnas, but you may call me Superior." Then, he bowed slightly and stepped back.

"This is a Physics teacher as some of you may know, and also one of the Student Council Advisors, Xigbar." Larsa introduced. Some clapping and even whistling went on as Xigbar stepped forward. All of the students knew that Xigbar practically gave away free hundred's.

"'Sup?" He waved, grinned, and then stepped back, Xemnas glaring at him because he had received no applause. Just...hurtful comments.

Larsa smiled, glad that his fellow classmates were happy with his choosing of the Student Council members, "Then this is Xaldin, um...I'm not too sure of what he does, but he's an advisor as well!"

Xaldin was glaring daggers at Sora as the whole room was silent. The lance-wielding member didn't even bother to take a step, as the whole class couldn't really care less about him. Larsa just sighed and continued, "This is Vexen, a Chemistry teacher as some of you may have had last year."

Vexen stepped forward, face blank. The students started booing and throwing paper balls at him. Sora joined in to, remembering that was the year he was grounded because he failed Chemistry. "Sora!" Olette whispered, giving him a stern look reminisce of his mother, "That is so childish! Quit it!" In reply, Sora just stuck out his tongue and crossed his arms.

Vexen sighed and stepped back, mumbling, 'Why do I even bother?'. The student body president just laughed nervously at that, and then cleared his throat, "And then you may know one of the gym teachers, Lexaeus." The room was silent as well, having no real opinion on him. "Then there's one of our actual members, a senior, Zexion."

Zexion stepped forward and girls immediately rushed out towards him, cameras aimed and ready. Seymour sighed. Since his homeroom was full of fangirls, he knew how to get them off of hot guys. He held up a picture of a topless Riku("I SWEAR I DO NOT STALK HIM!" Uh-huh. Yeah, sure, Seymour. We believe you) and all of the girls screamed and tackled Seymour and started ripping each other apart. At this, Riku shuddered and stayed under his desk. Poor Riku...

Zexion sighed and stepped backwards, glad the attention was not on him. Larsa waited for the ravaging fangirls to calm down, before he continued, "And this is another Student Council Advisor,

Saïx."

Boos were thrown around, so the blue-haired member just stayed put. "And our next member is--"

"RENO!"

"OH MY GOSH RENO!"

"WE LOVE YOU!"

"MARRY ME, RENO!"

Came the many shouts of fangirls(who were between glomping Reno and getting their hands on the picture of Riku). The whole female population would give up their arms and legs just to get ONE day with the redhead. He was the heir to Shinra, he was hot, he had a good sense of humor, and girls thought he was some kind of fire god.(Due to the whole 'came out of a burning building without any burns' situation) So yeah, he was the dream guy for every girl EXCEPT Larxene, who clearly did not like him.

"Oh puh-leez." She muttered, crossing her arms. Reno flicked one of her bangs.

"Aw, don't be jealous, Ant. If you want a date I'll give you one."

"HA! As if! I am so out of your league." The blonde said, poking his forehead.

"Oh really? Want to bet on that, Ant?" The redhead asked, moving closer to her. The members sighed, knowing that if they continued to argue, someone was going to get shocked.

"Eight, Twelve. Continue this somewhere else." Xemnas said monotonously.

"Yes Superior." They both said, sighing and rolling their eyes.

"Anyway," Larsa smiled again, "Then there's our resident Sophmore musician, Demyx."

The fangirls cheered, but fortunately, they did not go crazy as they did over Zexion and Reno. Demyx started to tear, "I'm loved! I'm really loved! I LOVE YOU ALL, MY ADORING FANS! Someday, when I make it big, just remember that you were the ones who inspired me!" The mullet-man then turned to Reno and said, "HA! I AM loved, Reno!"

"Not as much as I am." Reno said, crossing his arms.

Larxene huffed, "Egotistical redheaded..." She then mumbled a couple of other inaudible words.

"Um, yeah," Larsa interrupted them, afraid that a fight would break out between volatile numbers eight and eleven, "This Advisor is the Pre-Calculus teacher, Luxord." The blonde waved a hand as people whistled. Another well-liked teacher. "And then, there's..."

"ME!" The pink-haired member shouted, stepping forward and extending his arms as if he wanted to hug someone, "I am," He twirled around, "Your very own Biology teacher and Greenhouse Club Advisor as well as one of the many Student Council Advsiors, Marluxia!" He then threw flower petals everywhere. The class cheered. Marluxia was a teacher that always gave out one hundreds. Even if you absolutely SUCKED at Biology, he'd give you a one hundred 'just for trying'.

The raven-haired President then continued, "And our twelfth member, Larxene."

There were whistles from the guys, but Reno sent out a glare which silenced everyone. Fortunately, the aqua-eyed girl did not see it(or she would probably claw his eyes out with her kunais). She just winked and blew kisses everywhere. As soon as the introductions were complete, Riku came out of hiding.

Larsa then cleared his throat as it became silent, "Now, I hope you all remember when we interviewed you all yesterday."

'_So THAT was why that hallways was so crowded! They were interviewing for their thirteenth member!'_ Roxas said, and then frowned, _'They can't choose you, because you didn't do an interview...I won't be their thirteenth member again...'_

"Well, we have decided who will be our new member!" Larsa said happily, turning to the Superior, who gave him a cloak. "Drum roll, please."

The students drum-rolled using their hands on the desks. The raven-haired president nodded, content with the drum roll. He paced back and forth, making everyone nervous, until he came to Riku's desk, and placed the cloak down in front of him. "Riku Almasy, we've talked it over and decided that you're the most capable for this position. Will you accept?"

All of his fangirls were screaming 'YES! YES! YES HE ACCEPTS!'. Sora's mouth slightly dropped, Roxas was _completely_ surprised, and Hayner seemed very amused.

"I..." Riku trailed off, standing up and picking up the cloak, "I...decline." He said, handing the cloak back to a blank-expressioned Larsa.

"I would've preferred if you would've this decision **yourself,**" Larsa said, (which made Hayner cough really loudly and it caused Riku to look completely astounded) "But, whatever, it's your decision in the end." He shrugged, plastered a smile on his face, then turned around to face Sora. "Sora, you are our next choice."

"Wha...WHAT?" Sora asked, shocked.

'_You are saying yes.'_ Roxas decided. The brunette looked around, seeing Olette nod her head rapidly(she probably thought it was a good influence for him), and his fair share of fangirls were also screaming for him to say yes.

Sora stood up and took the cloak, facing his class, "Well, I am proud to be the new member of the Student Council!"

The class cheered and the members clapped him on the back. Larsa turned to Seymour, "If we may take Sora out of class..."

"Of course." Seymour said, mumbling, "I didn't like the hyper brat anyway..."

Sora followed them out of the classroom, putting on the cloak. "It doesn't look that good on me.." He said, frowning, **'You look a lot better in it.'**

'_Well yeah, that's what you've seen me in ninety-nine percent of the time you see me. Of course I'm going to look better than it than you are!'_ Roxas said.

'**To tell you the truth, I don't think this accented your eyes as nicely as it does to mine.'**

'_We have the SAME EYE COLOR.'_ Roxas reminded him.

"He looks much better in it." Larsa said, making Sora start.

"Huh?!? You can hear him? You KNOW? About...about...about..."

"Yes. I know. He's hovering over your shoulder right now. I can see him." The president said, glancing back and waving at Roxas. Not even thinking he COULD be seen(since no one has...ever), he just waved back.

"Larsa can see the supernatural." Reno said, "He can see Axel, too."

"Then..." Sora trailed off, not wanting to ask but Roxas saying it for him, "You know where Seifer is?"

The Organization glanced at him, giving him a weird look because his voice had come out in a combination of both Roxas' and Sora's. Larsa, probably accustomed to such oddities, dismissed it as if someone declared they were hungry.

"As a matter of fact, I do. We were going to discuss that with you. But, you may not be ready for it." Xemnas said, and Sora rose an eyebrow.

"Why not? I need to know! Well, no..." The brunette thought about this for a moment, "ROXAS has the right to know! He's been waiting two thousand years for the moment where he can finally beat the tar out of Seifer and you're not going to tell me because you don't think I'M ready? That's being unfair!"

'_Thanks for standing up for me. I...I never knew you had it in you.'_ Roxas said, and Sora smiled.

'**Hey, that's what--WAIT A MINUTE! Are you saying that you thought if it came down to either you or...let's say, Kairi, I'd choose Kairi?'** Sora asked.

'_No, I'd want you to choose Kairi. It's not fair to you for your life to be inconvenienced because of my presence.'_ Roxas replied.

'**But, what about Naminé? If she doesn't have you, then who would protect her from Seifer...?'**

"Well," Larsa said, interrupting their conversation, "If you really want to know--"

"Yes!"

He turned around, and sighed, "It's Riku. He's Seifer."

Sora blinked. Then he laughed and slapped his knee, "Good joke. I almost believed you there."

"He's being serious." Reno added, no joy or any sign or joking displayed on his face. Just absolute, total seriousness. And if you knew Reno...well. He wasn't a serious person, to say the least.

"B-But..." Sora's mouth dropped open, "W-Why?!?"

"He doesn't like it, either." Xemnas piped up, "You wonder why he was late to Homeroom everyday?"

"Well, yeah. But he said fangirl attacks...?" Sora questioned, but all thirteen shook their heads.

"He was keeping tabs." Reno said, crossing his arms, "And we were helping him keep tabs. On his, what we like to call it,"

"What _**you**_ like to call it," Larxene corrected under her breath.

The redhead turned around to face the blonde, "Excuse me?"

"You heard me!" She said, giving him a menacing glare, "What?!? You wanna DO something about it? Huh? Do something! I DARE you!"

"Eight, Twelve, is there some kind of attraction between you two? Because you can't seem to get out of each other's faces." Xemnas commented, as Demyx complimented him on his comment, to which then Xemnas graciously gave his thanks to the Sophmore member.

"NO THERE'S NOT!" They both replied at the same time.

"Anyway, as Reno was saying, Riku was coming to us to keep Seifer dormant." Xemnas finished, "He knew your alter ego was Roxas, and he didn't want to fight you."

"Yeah, we're best friends!" Sora exclaimed, "This SUCKS!"

"Unfortunately," Luxord started, throwing some dice up in the air and catching it repeatedly, "It seems fated that Seifer and Roxas will fight."

Sora frowned, "I don't want to fight Riku!"

"You won't have to," Demyx said happily, "Roxas will! And it won't even be Riku! It'll be what's-his-name!"

"You mean Seifer." Larxene stated, and the musician nodded happily.

"B-But still! This can't be right! I'll go ask him if he's Seifer!" Sora decided, going back to the classroom, when Reno grabbed the hood of the cloak.

"Ahhhhh, you can't do that!" The redhead said, "If you ask him, of course he'll say no! AND, you can't ask him now! Everyone will wonder who Seifer is!"

"But...it can't be THIS Riku! It has to be a different Riku! Maybe there's some other Riku is the world!" Sora suggested.

"No." Larsa shook his head, "I've seen Seifer. But no worries, every time I see him he's always half-asleep. He's not strong enough to force Riku into a transformation."

"So the time to fight is not yet here." Xemnas said, "Which gives us time to prepare."

"Prepare?!?" Sora asked, clenching his fists, "Prepare!! Who said I'm fighting, because I'm not!"

"Why does no one listen to me?!?" Demyx wailed as they reached the Student Council Office door and Xemnas used a key to open it, "I said you won't have to fight, it'll be Roxas!"

The door opened, revealing a very living-room like place, with sofas, tables, even a mini kitchen with a fridge, freezer, oven, and microwave. The office had everything, even a couple of air hockey tables, pool tables, gumball dispensers, vending machines, a jukebox, a Pacman and Mortal Kombat Arcade Games, and some darts...well, kunai practice for Larxene (complete with a picture of Reno and Axel over the bullseye). "Woooow..." Sora said in awe, looking about the place like it was a fifty-feet tall mansion, "How does the school afford this?"

"Eh, this is just what I bought with my daily allowance to brighten up the place." Reno said, looking around, "It's nice, isn't it?"

"Wait, with your DAILY allowance?" Sora asked, mouth wide open, "You must be like, rich!"

"If you think this is amazing, you should see my home." Reno said, grinning.

"His home is AWESOME!" Demyx exclaimed, "Everything you can imagine is in there!"

"Woooow..." Sora repeated, then a comment from Roxas reminded him not to get off of topic. "Anyway, how come YOU guys haven't done anything about Seifer? I mean, you knew about it. Why didn't you tell me about it?!?"

"Because you wouldn't believe us," Larxene started, "And Seifer hasn't really much sign of activity, except communicating with Riku. As much as it might make me happy, beating Riku to a bloody pulp won't solve anything."

"Finally, she gets that violence isn't the answer!" Demyx declared, "Welcome to pacifisism, Lar--"

She growled and threw some kunai at the musician, who then screamed bloody murder and ran to Xemnas, clutching onto him like he was his mother. "Nine, PLEASE get off of me." The Superior said, shoving the poor Sophmore off of him.

"B-But! Larxene is SCARY!" He said shakily, pointing at Larxene like she was some kind of witch that was trying to shove a poisoned apple down his throat.

She moved closer to him, and whispered, "Boo." He screamed, and, crying for his mother, ran out of the room. She cackled evilly and crossed her arms, wiping a tear away from her eye. "Scaring Demyx will **never** get old."

Sora cleared his throat loudly, wanting to get back on the subject of Riku and Seifer. "So...when is Seifer going to rear his ugly head, Larsa?"

"Well," The President thought for a moment, "I don't know, but when I do find out, you'll be the first one to know. So, about your Student Council obligations..."

"Wait, obligations?" Sora asked, blinking, "I thought you just picked me because you wanted to talk to me about Seifer!"

"No!" Larsa said, shaking his head, "We have a diverse 'cast' of members. Since you're the," He cleared his throat, "Excuse me for being stereotypical, but you are the, um, 'athletic jock'."

"I don't mind." Sora shrugged, "That's all I'm good at, anyway."

"Anyway, you fill our 'athletic jock' position. There's the genius, the rich 'jack-of-all-trades', the musician, and the sadist Beauty Queen." Larsa gestured to Zexion, Reno, Demyx, and Larxene respectively.

"Being Beauty Queen," Larxene growled, "is not something I'd like to remember!"

"Yet you do it every year, Larx." Reno said, "And you win every year."

"It's just for the prize money!" She looked away, "Something that YOU don't need..." She finished, growling.

"Anyway," Larsa continued, "We needed to have the 'Athletic Jock' position on our Student Council because having diverse members will appeal to everyone."

"Wait," Sora looked at everyone, "There are no Freshmen here!"

"No one likes Freshmen." Was all Xemnas had to say. The brunette decided not to ask questions and trust Larsa's judgement.

"So," The President started, going over to a pile of paperwork. He browsed through it, taking some papers and packets out until he had a good number of papers, numbering up to about a hundred, "This is your paperwork. You need to fill all of this out by next Friday." He passed the pile to Sora, who briefly looked through it.

'**Eh, this is no big deal. Olette or Mom can fill all of this out for me.'** Sora said. It was just papers about health problems, birthdays, family members, all that personal stuff and even... "Woah! Why is there a criminal record on here?!?"

"Because _some_ people like to disobey the law." Larsa whistled, and twelve pairs of eyes shifted over to the twelfth member. Sora noticed this and looked at Larxene as well.

'**Huh. I wonder what she did. Is it just me or does it seem like she has a lot of problems?'** He asked. Roxas sighed.

'_Some people do have problems. Don't judge them on that, it's not their fault.'_ He replied.

"What!" Larxene shouted, angry, "I didn't know you had to be over eighteen to get a tattoo at that time! The tattoo artist never said anything about it!"

"You know, you could've always asked your parents and it would've been fine..." Reno trailed off.

"Huh." She said, as if the suggestion had never came to her before, "Maybe I didn't ask my parents because I NEVER HAD NONE! Not a feeling you'd know, huh, Reno?"

"Eight! Twelve! Will you PLEASE be mature! You're going to college next year!" Xemnas said, sighing.

"Well, maybe not Larxene. Next year might be Senior year number three." Reno said, shrugging and snickering slightly. Everyone else chuckled as well, but tried to hid it, not wanting to provoke her. Too late.

Larxene screamed in fury and before anyone could blink, Reno(well, he was Axel now) was already pinned up against the wall with a kunai to his neck. "Any last words before you die?" She growled.

"You know," Axel said, and he couldn't help but crack a grin, "It's a shame we're rivals. 'Cause if we weren't I'd be enjoying our proximity. What about you, Ant?"

"Larxene! Axel! This is a time to be celebrating, not trying to kill each other! Can't you do this in a bedroom or something!" Said Xigbar, looking between them as the rest of the Student Council including Sora, chuckled.

Both of them growled at the joke, and glared Xigbar down. The eyepatched member didn't seem to notice the animosity growing in the air. "It was a joke, guys. A joke..." He said, smiling uneasily.

"Soooo..." Sora started, becoming bored. He got bored easily, "Do I have to go back to class?"

Xemnas snorted, "Of course not."

"We're going to PAR-TAAAAAAY!" Came the voice of Demyx from outside the room. He was probably afraid to come inside because he thought Larxene was scary.

"'Partaaaaay'?" Sora asked, scratching his head, "Won't students passing by want in?"

"We have bouncers!" Axel said, "Well, he's Reno's personal bodyguard but he'll be our bouncer. And we have a DJ and everything else you could want for a 'partaaaaaay'. Demyx, tell us when they come!"

"Got it, Axel!" Demyx shouted.

"Bouncers? DJs?" Sora asked, excited.

"Yeah, it might be only your only time you get to experience a club, so you better cherish this moment." Larxene said.

"Ooooh, feeling a little insensitive today, huh, Ant? You better lighten up for the party." Axel said, flicking her bang.

"Quit doing that!" She snapped, "And I will only lighten up if Luxord brought some of that _good_ Port Royal rum...and maybe if you bring that drunken pirate along, too, he makes great company at a party..."

Axel crossed his arms and huffed, "_I_ make better company at a club than some stupid drunken pirate. In fact, I bet I could make a better drunken pirate than that drunken pirate could!"

"Fine." Larxene replied, smirking, "I'll just take you up on that bet."

'_Axel acting like a drunken pirate? I __**have**__ to see that.'_ Roxas commented.

"I can't bring any alcohol to this school, unfortunately," Luxord started, "And I doubt Jack would make it past security. But Axel, I would go back on that bet if I were you."

"Axel never backs down on bets! Got it memorized?" He said, pointing to his head as he said his catchphrase. But really, he was just too prideful and if he backed down on their bet, then Larxene would never let him live it down, and he couldn't lose to her. Axel couldn't lose to anyone, it just wasn't how he rolled. Or, so Roxas said, anyway. Sora added that his redheaded best friend must also be pretty stupid if he accepted a bet even though there was no money bet on it or anything.

Suddenly, the Sophmore musician's shrill voice echoed throughout the hallway, "THEY'RE HERE! THE BOUNCERS ARE HERE!" Demyx ran inside the room and flipped a switch. As if on cue, the lights dimmed perfectly, and a disco ball popped out of the ceiling.

"A _disco ball?_" Sora asked in disbelief, "God, is there anything this place _**doesn't **_have?"

"Like, maybe," Demyx whipped out his sitar from seemingly nowhere, and played a couple of notes, "A jacuzzi?!?"

Part of the wall moved and a huge jacuzzi slid out under tiled floor. Streams of colored water shot over the bubbling hot tub. Sora had never seen anything like this in his entire life. A place in SCHOOL? **This** wonderful? No, it simply could not be.

"Pinch me," He said dreamily, "I must be dreaming!" Larsa went over and pinched him, "OW! Not literally!"

Axel went outside, and you could hear him talking with some other people. "Okay," You could hear him say, "Now, Rude, when someone asks you if they want to come in, what do you say?"

"I ask them for their name, and then ask you or any of your friends if they are cool. If they are, let them in, if they are not, I kick them out." Said Rude.

"Right! Thanks Rude, and, everyone else. I appreciate it." Axel said, coming back inside. "Alright, it's cool. We're set."

Music started blasting as some random DJ guy magically appeared. Everyone began to dance on the appropriately named dance floor as 'Crank That' by Soulja Boy came on.

'_What the hell?!?' _Roxas exclaimed, as everyone began to do the dance, _'This song...agh! It hurts my ears! How can you dance to THIS?'_

'**Yes I crank it everyday, haters get mad 'cause I...what did you say, Roxas?'** Sora asked as he did his stuff. Everyone had their own way of doing the Soulja Boy, not that Roxas really cared, but he just was amazed that people _danced_ to this...stuff.

Then, the whole Student Council formed a circle and Larxene got in the middle as she began to show off her supreme, queenly dance skills. **'Woooow, does she know how to dance!'** Sora said, awed. As the song began to fade as 'Da Dip' came on. Larxene went out of the circle and pushed a random member in the middle, which happened to be Larsa.

'_This music is horrendous! Seriously, do you LISTEN to this stuff?'_ Roxas said as they both watched in awe as the President busted some of his dance moves.

After the song faded out into 'Rockafeller Skank', Larsa got out of the circle and a friendly push from the kid next to Sora forced him into the middle of the circle. Since Kairi or anyone else that he would be embarrassed front of wasn't here, Sora...well, let's just say he released his inner breakdancer.

'_Woah...never knew you could bust a move like that, Sora...'_ Roxas said, showing amusement over Sora's breakdanceage. He got up when the song was over, and stopped because the circle of people had grown.

"Olette?!? Kairi? You guys...SAW that?" Sora asked, flushing a shade of red rivaling a cherry as he stepped back in the circle while 'Caught Up' blared in the background.

"You were pretty good, Sora." Kairi giggled. The brunette looked to his jade-eyed sister, just to find her looking at him weirdly.

"What?" He asked, "Please don't tell mom I was breakdancing! She'll ground me for life!"

Olette laughed, and the weird look on her face vanished(which was even weirder than the weird look in the first place!), "Of course I won't!"

"Thanks, Olette, you're the best sis--Hey, look! It's Riku and..." Sora squinted, "And...and...Hayner? And Fuu? AND that football kid? Why are they all hanging together?" Aside from the big circle, there were other groups of people who just made their own circles.

"Football?" Kairi asked, looking over Sora's shoulder, "Oh, that's number 43. I need to go congratulate him on that great touchdown yesterday! C'mon!" She grabbed Sora(who was muttering about how stupid football is)'s arm and started dragging him towards the group, Olette happily following.

"Hey, number 43! You were great last night!" Kairi yelled once they got nearer to the group. Everyone in the group turned around to face them.

"Uh, hey, Riku." Sora said, waving slightly. He couldn't but be bothered by the fact that his alter ego's enemy was Riku's alter ego. It unnerved the brunette greatly, and his sister could sense the unease in his overall attitude.

"Sora, is something the matter?" She asked, wondering what could bother Sora. He was like a ghost, nothing really phased his cheery personality. (Well, except for Hayner, and anyone who showed signs of wanting to date her, of course)

"Nope, not at all, Olette! Why would something be wrong? Nothing's wrong! I'm perfectly fine!" Sora said, smiling and giving her a thumbs-up. She just gave him a weird look and was about to say something when Hayner spoke to her.

"Hey, 'Letty. What do you think of us requesting a slow song and we can dance together?" He asked. Olette nodded her head, the idea pleasing to her. Of course, it was just about as pleasing as getting blood drawn to Sora.

"Um, no!" Sora said, grabbing Hayner's arm when he was about to walk off to the DJ, "You and Olette are NOT dancing together to ANY kind of song! In fact, you guys should be at least..." He looked around and grabbed a couple of balloons off the floor and stuffed one in each of their hands, "two balloons apart!"

"Sora, this is silly." Olette said, dropping the balloon, "Don't you think I'm responsible enough to chose who is good to hang out with?"

To which Sora replied with, "Apparently not if you think THIS crackhead is a GOOD INFLUENCE!"

"Are you two related?" Kairi asked, and they both nodded. "You know, you look a lot alike..."

"But we're not actually related." Sora quickly said, "I was adopted. Our similarity in looks is just a coincidence."

"I see..." Kairi said, and seemed to be in deep thought, before turning to the football player, which just happened to be the bulky Rai, and said, "Number 43, that touchdown last night was great!"

"Traverse Town's team is sure tough, y'know? But we laid the smackdown, y'know? I hope Riku will beat them good in the Blitzball game on Saturday too, y'know?" Rai said.

"Victory assured." Fuu added, nodding her head.

"Oh, you're a blitz player too?" Kairi asked, then smiled, "Well, I'll cheer the both of you on!"

"Sora's so good, he might not need it." Riku said, nodding. Sora blinked, surprised at this comment. _**Everyone**_ on the Blitz team knew that Riku was the best player there. Sora came in a close second, though.

'_Be grateful. He's making Kairi think highly of you.'_ Roxas commented, '_Hmph. Trying to make up for the fact that he's Seifer, huh...'_

"Oh really!" The auburn-haired girl's eyes sparkled, as she flipped her hair and giggled,(**'Suh-weet! This is great!'**) "You know, my uncle is a professional blitz player for the Zanarkand Abes. I'd _love_ it if you could show me a couple of techniques sometime," She giggled again, "Y'know, so I could show my uncle."

"Well, blitzball isn't really a sport for girls. You could get hurt." Sora replied. Roxas sighed in frutration.

'_Oh my god, Sora, do you seriously not even know what 'flirt' MEANS? God, Axel NEEDS to give you some advice!_**'** Roxas said.

Sora looked around, and saw Axel with a pirate hat on and a beer bottle(filled with colored water, Roxas noted) in a hand. He kept making these hand motions and took a swig of the 'beer' every five seconds. In fact, he even had the believable drunken sway added to his walk.

'_**Axel acting like a drunken pirate? Okay, this I **__**gotta**__** see.'**_

* * *

Okay, I have a valid reason for not proof-reading! Ya see, I was playing FFX (OMG, THE MOST HARDCORE SONG PLAYING/SAD/BEST MUSIC/BEST VOICE ACTING/BEST CHARACTER PERSONALITIES/BEST SIDEQUESTS/COOLEST SUMMONS/BEST OVERDRIVES/BEST CREEPY BOSSES(omg, Seymour?!?)/BEST CREEPY MUSIC/COOL GRAPHICS(omg, Zanarkand MADE ME CRY!)/BEST EMOTIONAL GAME(tears were rolling down my cheeks when I saw the ending. OMG, and coming down from Mt. Gagazet? OMG emotional! And when Tidus high-fives Jecht OMG best scene in FF, bar none)/BEST LAST LINE(omg, don't EVEN get me started)/YEAH EVERYTHING IS PRETTY MUCH THE BEST- FINAL FANTASY GAME **_EVER TO BE MADE IN CREATION)._** So yeah, I was playing that and although it came out at LEAST seven years ago, I wanted to finish it(for a second time) 'cause I wanted to play FFX, then FFX-2 immediately after. (Omg, Wakka's voice overwent a HORRENDOUS voice actor change. God, I'd rather listen to nails scratching on a chalkboard!)

And yeah. Don't blame me. When FFX came out, weren't you spending quality time with your PS2 for AT LEAST two weeks or so? (Depending on how obsessed you were) So, I took a temporary hiatus and played the best game EVER. Now, onto FFX-2! But, I had to post this out first because like...playing Final Fantasy boosts my urge to write, y'know? So I was practically exploding.

ANYWAY, enough with my rambling you don't care about! I've just got some words for you: If you haven't played FFX, STOP BEING CHEAP AND BUY THE STUPID GAME. God, it has to be like, ten bucks BY NOW. If you have...who's your favorite character and why, what's your favorite scene and why, and did the Macalania scene(oh yeah, you know what I'm talking about!) seem cheesy (OMG when Tidus smiled I was like 'YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!) or was it just me?

So yeah. Sorry for the caps and the babble. I JUST DRANK THREE THINGS OF DIET COKE AND I'M ON A ROLE! BOOYAH:D


	9. Even Though the Clock Strikes Thirteen

Disclaimer: -hums FFX Zanarkand Theme(the music and redone voice actors(omg, don't EVEN get me started on O'aka and Wakka) in FFX-2 utterly destroys the entire game)- No, I don't own the FFX Zanarkand Theme, any other songs from FFX(or any songs in this chapter)...oh wait, this is a KH story! In THAT case, I don't own ANYTHING at all. Actually, I do own one billionth of a stock of Disney, so I technically DO own one billionth of the Disney side of Kingdom Hearts.(Hey, I'd rather take a hair from Riku's head than a stupid dusty corner in Magic Kingdom). But I don't own the Squeenix side of KH. Darn. Oh, and I don't own the HSM reference, either.

Oh yeah, don't kill me for using the Aurochs. I didn't know what else to name them, and the 'Twilight Town Goers' or 'Psyches' would've sounded stupid. So I was like, 'What about the Aurochs? Yeah, Jassu and Botta FTW!' So yeah. :D

Oh, that also reminds me. Sorry if the cheers are corny. I asked Ciel(y'know, twin sis) if she remembered any of hers. Though Varsity Captain, these are the best she could come up with. -sigh-

"**Bold inside quotes"- **Unknown Language (Kudos to you if you figure it out, but so you and everyone else will be in the same boat, I won't translate it until the end of the story. You can translate it if you wish(and if you know what it is--again, kudos if you do) but do so at your own risk and take full responsibility knowing that you MAY or may not spoil the story :D:D:D)

'**Sora speaking to Roxas'**

'_Roxas speaking to Sora'_

'_**Two Voices in Harmony'**_

Angels in Flight: Eien no Tobira

Chapter 44/9: **E**ven Though the Clock Strikes Thirteen... (Aftermath of a Thousand Years, Part Two)

(Season of Light Finale)

"_One, we are the Aurochs_

_Two, a little bit louder_

_Three, I still can't hear you_

_More, more, more, more!_

_Second verse, same as the first, a little bit louder and a little bit worse!_

_Let's go AUROCHS!_

_One, we are the Aurochs_

_Two, a little bit louder_

_Three..."_ Came the chants of the Varsity cheerleaders(including Kairi) cheering on the Varsity Blitz players. Of course, this included Sora, Riku, some seniors, a handful of Sophmores and one or two Freshmen.

In the stands Olette stood, cheering for Sora. Currently, she was alone because Aerith wanted to stay with Cloud and Zack to make sure they were alright. Olette didn't mind, she was responsible enough to watch a seemingly harmless game by herself. Well. She wouldn't be watching it by herself for long, though, because she heard a familiar voice behind her that startled her.

"Hey 'Letty, watching your big bro play?" It was Hayner, Fuu, and Rai. She smiled and moved over so they could sit next to her.

"Yeah, I'm cheering him on." She said, nodding, "What are you guys doing here?"

"Nothing." Fuu quickly answered for all of them. The way she answered made it look like something was suspicious. Olette thought for a moment, then decided to brush it off.

"Is this your first time seeing your cousin play blitzball, Fuu?" She asked, but Fuu just shook her head.

"I think football is much better, y'know?" Rai said in his questioning way, "It's better than blitzball, y'know? It's all on ground and blitzball's not, y'know?"

Rai and Fuu then began to converse(the latter just listening boredly) about football and blitzball and how football was better and how blitzers were just wannabe football players, so that just left Hayner and Olette. The brunette seemed very interested in the game and it was obvious she really wanted to watch it, but the seemingly drug-addicted(of course, no one had any proof of that) Hayner really could not care less about the game. It was just underwater soccer for all he cared.

"Soooo, Olette, you doin' anything after the game?" He asked. She held up a finger, signaling for him to wait as Riku was just about to shoot.

"He shoots," Shouted the announcer, "AND SCORES! First point for our home team by number 76, Riku!"

Olette jumped up and clapped and screamed and shouted and just did everything she could do to assist in the noise that had accumulated from the team's loyal fans. Once the noise settled down, Olette sat down and turned to Hayner and said, "I'm sorry about that, what did you say?"

"I asked you if you're busy after the game." He repeated, fishing out a pack of gum from his pocket. He offered a piece to her, "Want some?"

"Um..." Olette looked at the gum uncertainly. Chewing gum on school grounds was against protocol, and there were some teachers as staff members around...and what if they saw her chewing gum! They'd take her down to the dean and severely discipline her! And then, she could get sent to the Principal, who would then write it down on her permanent record, or WORSE, ruin her perfect streak of no absences! And then, after her no-absent streak was ruined and her permanent record defiled, SHE'D NEVER GET INTO THE COLLEGE OF HER DREAMS! So, due to her over-active imagination, she politely declined.

Hayner shrugged, "Suit yourself." He popped a piece of gum in his mouth and stared at her, waiting for a response. She blinked, wondering why he was staring at her. Figuring she just didn't hear him(again), Hayner said, "Soooo, are you doing anything after the game?"

"Weeeell," Olette placed her index finger on her chin, wondering how to reply, "You see, I'd _really_ love to hang out with you guys--"

"I'm not talking about _them._" Hayner said offhandedly, looking at Fuu and Rai, "Seriously, do they look like much fun?"

"No, but--"

"I was thinking we could just chill out here after the game, just the two of us." He suggested. Olette's face heated up. She _wanted_ to say yes, I mean, she _really_ liked Hayner and all buuuut it was just too risky! Until Sora lightened up, she _couldn't _say yes.

"I **want** to, but Sora..." She didn't want to say 'oh, my brother hates you', so she said the first thing on her mind, "...doesn't really like water all that much so after a game he really freaks out and as a loyal sister I need to be there!"

'_Okay, that was officially the __**dumbest**__ excuse ever, Olette! How is Hayner supposed to believe that! Ugh, he's going to think I hate him!_' She thought, mentally smacking herself too many times to count.

"**E caa. Ed'c hud dryd **Sora **tuach'd mega fydan, ed'c dra yhkam fru rydac ed**, huh?" Hayner said, shaking his head.

"Um..." Olette didn't know where Hayner had transferred from(she had thought it was Destiny Islands, but maybe she had been misinformed), so it could've possibly been from another country that spoke a different language, "What language is that?"

He blinked. By the look on his face, you could tell he didn't mean to say that, or, at least, in a different language "Oh, it's nothing. I didn't say anything bad, don't worry. It's just--where I used to live, we used to speak two languages. So, yeah."

"Wow! So, occasionally, you'll mean to say something in one language, but it'll come out in the other, right?" She asked, and he nodded. "Hmmmm. That makes sense!"

"Yeah...so, how about we ditch Fuu and Rai right now since we can't later?" He asked suddenly. She blinked, two parts of her mind thinking different things.

Logical Olette, represented by a mini Olette in glasses with a ton of books in her arms, appeared on her left shoulder, "Olette! You can't go out with this guy!"

Then, the emotional side of Olette, represented by a miniature version of herself with her hair blown out, party clothing(and wearing mardi gras beads) and an empty martini glass in the mini Olette's hand, said, "No! Don't listen to that **nerd**! Life's a party, and you're the DJ! If you always go by the book, how will you go out and experience the world?"

"Well, if I recall," Replied Logical Olette(whom we shall now call L.Olette, and we will call the Emotional Olette 'E.Olette', and of course, Olette will just be Olette), "You can't experience many things while being internally suspended!"

"That's an experience in itself!" E.Olette replied, placing her hands on her hips, "Olette, c'mon. If you miss out on this chance, then you will miss out on Hayner! And who knows, he could be a really great guy!"

"He COULD be!" L.Olette shouted, "What if he treats her like trash, huh?"

"That's all apart of the experience!" E.Olette said, "Then Olette can be ready for life outside of her small little highschool!"

"She can read about other people's experiences in books!" L.Olette argued, shaking her head. The two mini Olettes started arguing about whether or not she should go out with Hayner or not. Olette couldn't take it anymore!

"SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP!!!!" She screamed. The whole place went dead quiet. Everyone in the stands stared at her. All of the blitz players stared at her, Sora getting knocked over due to a blitzball hitting him in the stomach because he was distracted by his sister's screams and didn't dodge. The cheerleaders stared at her as well, and even people in the concession stands and the bands and the kickline all stared at her like she was a complete nut.

She blinked. "Um, Hayner?" She whispered in a questioning way. It was virtually impossible for a human to get redder than she was at this moment. Olette just couldn't believe she screamed like that! And, worst of all, Hayner probably thought she was either insane or hated him or something!

"You want to go now?" He whispered back, and she nodded slightly. He stood up and shouted, "Hey, Aurochs! Get your head in the game! The Agrabah _Losers_ are beating you!" With that, the players resumed their game and the crowd resumed it's chatter. It was as if nothing had ever happened at all. "Rai, Fuu, Olette and I are going to buy a pretzel. We'll be back."

They nodded and continued to talk about football and blitzball. Hayner took Olette's hand(fortunately, she couldn't get any redder) and led her down the bleachers and out of the stadium. "Don't worry," He finally said, glancing at her, "The pretzel thing was just an excuse to get us out of here. By the way, why were you screaming? You sounded really aggravated. If you really want to back up there and see your brother, you can, it's just--"

Olette blinked, seeing a hurt look spread across Hayner's face. _'Oh great! Great going, Olettes, you hurt him...'_ She immediately shook her head, "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! It wasn't you! It wasn't anything you did! It's just..." She frowned. She couldn't word her feelings without it insulting him even _more,_ but she tried, "...I don't know. I mean, I was debating on whether or not to go with you. I was having a little argument with myself. Well, really," She knew was starting to babble, but Hayner needed to hear this, and even if he wasn't paying attention, she'd still feel better after she got done with her rant, "Little Olettes appeared on my shoulders in representation of my emotional and logical side. Their argument got out of hand and I just exploded." Olette sighed, "I'm sorry."

"Nope, that's okay. I think it makes sense logically if you think about it in an emotional way." He said. She burst out laughing punching him in the arm lightly as they stood in the entrance to the stadium. After she got done laughing, he asked,"Soooo, where to, Princess?"

"Princess?" The title made Olette blush scarlet(just when her face had returned to it's normal color, too), "Um, I don't care. Anywhere, really. Maybe we could watch clouds or something."

"Why don't we just walk around town? It's Saturday, there should be plenty of things to do on Saturday." He said, definitely _**not**_ wanting to watch clouds, "Saturdays are meant to be fun."

"I have an idea!" Olette said, "We could go to the beach! Mother gave me some munny, so we can both go and have a great ti--"

Hayner stuck his tongue out, obviously displeased with the idea, "I love the beach, but...I don't know. _People_ I know are at the beach today.** Dra Bnehla ec fyhtanehk ynuiht dutyo**, I know it." He said, then sighed.

Olette wasn't too worried about what he was saying. After all, he couldn't be saying anything bad about her, or else he wouldn't have wanted to take her out, right? Well, maybe she shouldn't say 'take her out'. It sounded like they were on a date or something, and they _**were not on a date.**_ Just a friendly outing.

"Eureka!" He suddenly shouted, making her jump slightly, "I got it! You know the big clock tower?" He asked, pointing to it. She nodded, and he nodded as well, "Wellllll, I'm thinking we could go buy some sea salt ice cream(it was her, Sora(and Roxas)'s favorite) and we can just sit up there."

"Just...sit?"

"Well, yeah, and watch the entire town bustle around without us there. Like we're the whole guardians of the place." Hayner said, and she gave him a confused look. He sighed, and shrugged, "I dunno. I just thought that chicks dig the whole 'view-something-with-a-hot-guy' concept. I mean, I know you girls LOVE stargazing, and cloud-watching, and sunset-watching, and sunrise-watching, and moon-watching--"

"Alright, alright!" Olette laughed, starting to walk towards the ice cream shop, Hayner following her, "I have to admit, I'm the type of girl who enjoys...'watching'. And, you know, I've never been on the top of the clock tower before. I wonder what Twilight Town looks like from up there."

"Sixteen years and you've never been up there?" Hayner asked, in disbelief as they both entered the ice cream shop, ordered their sea salt popsicles, paid, and left.

"To tell you the truth...I'm kinda scared of going up there. Sora never really wanted to go up there," She said, thinking, _'Because whenever he wants, he can get a personal flight over the town on demand.'_, "And I didn't want to be up there alone. Most of my friends are afraid of heights, and the ones that aren't just..." Olette shrugged, "...don't care."

"I see..." He trailed off, "Call me sensitive, but I like the sights too. Especially since I've been here only a month. I want to see all of Twilight Town in one shot, you know?"

"You know..." Olette trailed off, wondering if she should say what was going to come out of her mouth or not. Oh, she might as well, "There's a rumor about the clock tower..."

"One of the Seven Wonders of Twilight Town?" He asked. "I've heard about them, but--"

"No. Sora and I, we found out that the wonders were fake." She said, biting her lip for a moment. _'With Roxas' help, too...' _"I've never got the chance to test out the validity of the Clock Tower rumor, though..."

"Really? Well, now's our chance! What is this rumor?" He asked, looking at her. He was about to make a comment about how her green eyes sparkled with life, but decided against it because that would be way too corny(even though it were true; in his opinion at least). He didn't think of himself as the type to throw out cheesy pick-up lines.

"They say...that on midnight...if you are sitting on the clock tower and you are truly in love, the clock will strike thirteen." She said, and then laughed, knowing how ridiculous that must seem, "And I've also heard that around that time...the ghost of the Clock Tower can be seen." She finished, sighing. Sora had told her the last one. He had once gone out reeeeally late, and both Roxas and he could have sworn they had seen a ghost wandering around there.

"Creepy, huh, 'Letty?" Hayner asked, and punched her in the shoulder lightly as they made their way up to the Clock Tower. It was ladder after ladder...stair after stair...until, Olette saw a reprieve. An elevator!

"Hayner, look! Do you think we can get to the top in that?" She asked, blowing the dust off of it. There were some blinking lights, so it looked operational.

"Hmm." He stepped next to her, looking at it, "It looks pretty old. But the wires could be rusted or something. The elevator could snap, we could die, or we could be stuck in there for _days._"

The brunette suddenly felt like she was in a daring mood. After her little scene at the stadium, Olette felt the need to _do something_ so that she wouldn't feel like a shy little bookworm the rest of her life.(At this, she could hear a party going on inside E.Olette's side of her mind) "C'mon, let's go see if it works!"

"Ah, wait a minute there, Olette." Hayner said hesitantly as the elevator doors open up, "Shouldn't I test run it first? To make sure it works?"

"Don't be a worrywart!" She says, smiling so that he knows she appreciates the thought that he wants to keep her out of harm's way. But she kinda just wanted to have fun. It was her first time out on a date and--'_Whoa, whoa, whoa,'_ She thought to herself, mentally shaking her head, _'We're not __**dating**__. We're just friends. Just friends.'_ She had to keep repeating 'Just friends' to herself to make sure she didn't accidentally hold his hand in the elevator or something that made it seem like they _were_ on a date which they _weren't._

"Ha! I laugh in the face of danger!" He said, and walked up the elevator, laughing at it. Olette had to laugh at Hayner's attempt to make her laugh. Which, apparently, worked.

"You know, if it just happens that we DO get stuck in the elevator..." She said, "...I'm eating you, first."

"Woah, cannibal Olette?" He rose an eyebrow as they both got in, holding the elevator door open. He looked to her and sighed, waiting to see if she still wanted to back out. She nodded solemnly, like this _was_ going to be the thing that killed them.

"So," She said, once the elevator doors were closed, "What do these buttons do? There are all of these buttons blinking different colors..." Olette had never been in an elevator before. She really wasn't a material girl(though she _adored_ shopping) and had trouble working a phone.

Hayner leaned forward, trying to get a better look at the array of buttons. It just so happened that he was the _perfect_ height and he was leaning at the perfect angle _just so_ that his cheek was a foot away from her face. Olette didn't know if he meant to do that on purpose, but it _sure_ made her face heat up like summer in Destiny Islands. Which are quite hot, or, at least, that's what she heard from Riku.

"Hmm. I think..." He trailed off, pushing a big red button with a black arrow on it pointing upwards. Nothing happened. He frowned, pushing a green and red blinking button. Suddenly, music started to play. It was nice and calming.

"_Music box,_

_the keys and locks_

_wherever I go_,

_you will follow.._." She began singing, even though there was no lyrics to the song and it was just pure piano playing, she felt like singing. Olette didn't sing too often, because Roxas' voice outshined her own, and when you are used to hearing angels' sing...well, _everything_ sounds like crap next to his voice.

She continued, making lyrics up on the spot "_Nothing's the same_

_Nothing's the same_

_Nothing's the same_

_Nothing's the same..._

_Trinkets' memories from yesterday_

_watch them so slowly fade_

_fading, faded away..._

_Reach out into the promise of clouds_

_lining silver and gray..._

_Nothing's the same_

_Nothing's the same_

_Nothing's the same_

_Nothing's the same_

_Trinket's_ _memories from yesterday_

_Watch them so slowly fade_

_Fading, faded away..._

_Reach out into the promise of clouds_

_lining silver and gray..._

_Nothing's the same_

_Nothing's the same_

_Nothing's the same_

_Nothing's the same..._

_Nothing's the same..._

_Trinket's memories from yesterday_

_Watch them so slowly fade_

_Fading, faded away..."_ She finished as the elevator music finished out as well, and began playing another song.

"Wow, you have a really good voice. **E fuhtan ev ed kud byccat tufh vnus dra yhkam..." **He mumbled, then applauded her performance before turning back and trying to get the thing working. "Hmm...I have an idea. Olette, stand back." He said, and she moved out of the way. He karate-kicked all the buttons at once. Suddenly, the elevator jerked down. Then it started moving up while the doors opened.

"This isn't so good..." Olette said, as the elevator made it to the top. It stopped, and she had a really bad feeling about this. "I have feeling the wire is going to snap any minute now..." She said as Hayner peeked out of the open doors and gulped.

"I hope to **ramm** not." He mumbled, and then turned back to her, "You afraid of heights?"

"Not particularly, no." She suddenly got scared. Why would he just randomly ask her that unless he was planning something? "Hayner, you can't be thinking of..." She trailed off, not wanting to give him any ideas.

"Well...I doubt this piece of **cred **worked in the first place. Look how far we are from the doors to the top." He said, pointing. It was true. They were at least five or six feet away from them.

"But how? There were no gaps when we first got on!" She said, and he stuck his head out again and looked below.

"Well--" He stopped suddenly as the elevator jerked downward violently and a screeching noise commenced. Then, the elevator stopped and they could see sparks fly the doors. "That's not good. I have an idea to get out of here, but..."

"What is it?" She asked, her daring mood suddenly wearing away. He motioned her over, and so she wouldn't cause any sudden movements, she slowly got to her knees and crawled over.

"I'm going to climb up there, and from the elevator, jump to the doors." He said, climbing out of the elevator.

"But wait! The doors aren't open!" She shouted, going back inside the elevator and pressing some buttons. Magically, the doors opened, "Oh, thank god!" She said, as she watched him climb up the ropes. "Be careful!" She shouted, closing her eyes. She couldn't watch.

Olette heard him jump, heard some noises, and she thought it was safe to peek. Just as she was about to, she got too scared and decided to say, "H-Hayner? Are you there? Are you still alive?"

"Yup." He said, and for some reason, he didn't sound all that far-away, "And the view is beautiful. Don't you want to see it?"

"Of course I do!" She said, "But I'm in the ele--" She peeked, to find herself standing on the edge of the Clock Tower. Slowly, she sat down, briefly wondering what happened to her sea salt ice cream. "H-How did I get here?"

"Magic." Hayner replied, shrugging. She frowned, and he just winked at her, "A magician never tells his secrets."

"Can you really do magic tricks like that?" She asked, and he nodded. He seemed to reach out behind her ear, pulling his hand back which magically had a bouquet of white roses in it.

"Sorry I couldn't get red roses. I know chicks dig red roses but I thought--" He trailed off, and she gasped, everything clicking into place.

"You planned all of this, didn't you! You planned the elevator, you planned everything!" She said. She wasn't mad, she was really...happy. _'Hayner cares! Is this what being on a da-da--no, wait! We're NOT on a date! God, it's just a friendly outing that Hayner planned for.'_ She thought, taking a deep breath before she got ahead of herself.

"N-No! I didn't, really. It was just an accident..." He said, his face turning slightly pink and he looked away. But Olette caught him blushing. So it _had_ to mean that he was lying. He really DID plan everything to happen!

'_Awww, that's so sweet of him!'_ She thought, placing her hand over her heart and looking back out at Twilight Town. "It's so peaceful..." She said, after a long silence. The view was absolutely gorgeous. Olette felt like she was looking at an extremely detailed snowglobe of Twilight Town, except...without the snow. "...and beautiful. I've lived here all my life, and I can't believe I've been missing out on this..."

"Yeah. It's pretty, isn't it? Too bad night doesn't fall too often in Twilight Town." He said, leaning back. "It'd be pretty to see the stars."

"I agree." Olette said, nodding her head slightly and letting her mind wander off, and then it became quiet. "Do you have any other magic tricks you can show me?"

He nodded, and fished through his pocket, a stack of cards appearing in his hand. "Y'know, a good magician never leave home without a stack of cards!" He said, and then shuffled the deck and spread it out before her, and closed his eyes tightly, so she could see he had them shut. "Pick a card, any card."

She picked a card, and it turned out to be a six of hearts. "Now," He said, "Remember your card, and return it to the deck." She did so, and he shuffled the cards again.

He picked up a couple of cards, but did not even look at them, until he got into the fifth of the stack. He held up the card, so that it was facing towards her, and said, "Six of hearts, right?"

She gasped, in disbelief. She hadn't said anything out loud! How did he know? He didn't even look at the card or anything! "T...That's amazing! How can you do that? Teach me, will you, Hayner?"

He shook his head, "Nope. A magician never reveals his secrets."

Olette sighed, looking back over the town. If Hayner wanted to be stubborn, then fine. She could see the Blitzball dome from here. There was only one arena in Twilight Town, because it took up so much space.

She frowned as the dome of water emptied, signaling the game was over. "The game shouldn't be over...it shouldn't even be halftime yet! Something's wrong, don't you think, Hayner?!?" She asked, worried that Sora or one of the players were seriously hurt or if the water was poisoned or something. Olette stood up, and he stood up with her, following her as she ran down the stairs.

"Olette, I don't think it's such a good idea to go over there..." He trailed off, catching her arm as they were sprinting down the last pair of stairs.

"Why not?!?" She shrugged off his arm, "Aren't you worried?"

"Yeah, but..." He sighed and shrugged, as she just turned around and continued to run. He followed, wondering how she suddenly got all of that energy to run so fast and for a long period of time. But he kept up with her easily.

When they _finally_ got to the stadium, Larsa and Xemnas, along with two or three other Student Council advisors were standing in the entrance.

"Sorry, past this point you can't enter." Larsa said, as some voices in the background were shouting and stuff.

"Sounds like a fight going on." Hayner said, crossing his arms as they heard some clashes of metal and a _-zoom-_ noise. Olette looked up to see a beam of light just shoot out of the arena.

"_Tell_ me _that's_ not normal." She said, looking at the beam of light. There was only one person who she knew could generate and control light like that, and Olette **highly** doubted Roxas just decided to randomly showcase his talents.

"It's not normal." Said another one of the advisors.

As if to add to the oddity, a huge flame suddenly sparked up in the dome, and they could tell because they saw a flash of orange, red, and yellow and for a moment, things got really hot. The flame died down and things returned to normal temperature.

"What's going on?" She demanded, trying to push past them, but they wouldn't let her through, or tell her anything.

"It's too dangerous for you to go in there!" Larsa said, "We're doing this for your own safety!"

"My brother is in there!" She shouted, "And an innocent bystander could still be in there! Please, will you let me through?"

"Absolutely not." Xemnas said, and she just groaned and turned around, to face Hayner and ask him what they should do. Of course, he was not there.

"Hayner?" She asked, looking around for him. She saw him jump over the walls that protected the arena(_'Wow, he climbed that whole thing?'_). But, that meant he left her hanging. She sighed in frustration, wishing she could fly.

-

'**I'm not getting this--did Larsa lie?!?'** Sora asked in frustration, as Roxas dodged a tendril of darkness thrown out by none other than the blonde we have all missed _**so **_much, Seifer.

'_I don't know what happened to aggravate Seifer to wake up...unless Larsa __was__ lying. He probably was, that...'_ He mumbled a string of curses that Sora couldn't quite catch. _'Well, whatever, he's alive and kicking now.'_

"Looks like you can't fight me by yourself, huh, Roxas?" Seifer asked, crossing his arms and jumping back, "Your little cronies are getting tired, hotshot."

Roxas looked at his friends. Seifer had gotten a lot stronger since their last battle; he was absolutely _**thrashing**_ them. "I'll handle him, guys," Roxas said, his keyblades appearing, "Stand down."

"What?!?" Axel exclaimed, shaking his head, "But I just warmed up!"

Seifer glared at the redhead, saying, "Shut it, Rudolph. He told you to stay out of it. Respect his wishes."

Axel's face heated up in anger, "R-Rudolph?!?"

"That's a good one." Larxene said, laughing, "Now I have a nickname to retaliate with. I like this guy already." Everyone quickly glared at her, and she said, "I was only joking! Relax..."

"I guess we have to stay out of it. I didn't really like fighting, anyway," Demyx said, "I'll play some cool battle music while you guys fight it out!" He started to play his sitar.

Roxas' keyblades, Oathkeeper and Oblivion, appeared while Ultima and Diamond Dust became his wings, "Bring it."

"Oh, that's the Princess' gift, isn't it?" Seifer asked, looking at the Oathkeeper, "I wonder where she is now..."

"That's for me to know and you to never find out!" He growled, as the Hyperion Gunblade appeared in Seifer's hands. Seifer's eyes grew dark and the shadows on the ground seemed to grow bigger and almost pop out of the ground.

"Roxas!" Axel shouted, drawing the appropriate blonde's attention, "Behind you!"

Roxas whipped around to notice that Seifer was now standing there. "W-What the?!?" He looked back to where Seifer had been before, to find him there. "Two?"

"It's his shadow!" Zexion informed, "But it's not just a mere illusion. His shadow is solid!"

"Well, I can't fight shadow. Light is what makes shadows appear, right?" He asked, slashing at the shadow to see if Zexion was right. The shadow blocked his attack with a shadow Hyperion.

Out of the corner of Roxas' eye, he could see Seifer, the REAL Seifer, charging at him.

He ducked, and Seifer slashed Shadow Seifer. Roxas then channeled some holy power in his hand, shot up and placed it right over Seifer's face and--BOOM!--released it.

It sent the darkness-wielding blonde sprawling backwards. "Agh! I can't see!" He said, blinking repeatedly as to try and clear his vision from the blinding light Roxas had so kindly shoved in his face.

The aforementioned stuck the Oathkeeper into the ground. Flapping his wings, he levitated above the ground disappearing. In reality, he was flying around the place, and when he appeared again, he appeared in front of the Oathkeeper. He placed the Oblivion, which was emanating light, into the ground beside the Oathkeeper, and lines on the ground lit up. When he had flew around the place, he had actually gathered light into the Oblivion and dragged it where he flew, so that the lines he made with it formed a symbol.

All the lines of the symbol were lit up, and Seifer was inside the symbol. "Light, give me strength!" Roxas commanded, placing his hand down next to the keyblades. The whole place flashed and shook violently. The smart people kept their eyes closed so they wouldn't be blinded for the rest of their lives. When the light died down, it revealed not Seifer, but Riku, barely counscious and burnt all over from the heat of the light. Roxas' keyblades and his wings disappeared, and suddenly felt not guilty, but angry.

'**That was LOW!'** Sora shouted, as angry as he, **'Seifer transformed back into Riku at the last second so HE got the blow!'**

"You alright?" Roxas asked, walking towards Riku, but out of nowhere, Fuu and Rai stood in front of him, blocking his path.

"Seifer was feeling under the weather, y'know?" Rai said, "He just wanted to see how much you've progressed in two thousand years, y'know?"

"Next time," Fuu started, pointing at Roxas, "Loser." Fuu and Rai helped Riku up and out of the stadium. Roxas frowned crossing his arms and transforming back into Sora, knowing that everybody knew. But what _**he**_ didn't know was that a certain someone who had jumped the wall earlier witnessed his transformation...

-

"Huh? It's over already?" Larsa asked, as Fuu, Rai, and Riku went out of the stadium. The President glanced at Xemnas, and shrugged, moving aside. "Okay, you can go in now."

"Finally!" Olette exclaimed, exasperated, as she ran inside the arena. She saw some Student Council members, and Sora. She walked up to Sora and asked, "What happened? Why did Riku look like he jumped out of a burning building?"

Sora blinked, realizing he hadn't told her **anything.** "Well, it goes kinda like this..."

-

"I...I see." Olette said, biting her lip, "It's truly unfortunate. You have to fight your best friend...What happened?"

"Well, what happened was that we reached the first quarter, right? So everyone went back to the locker rooms, but Riku was missing. So I looked around the locker rooms, and I found him. He was talking to himself--well, to Seifer, saying things like, 'Get out of my head!' and stuff." Sora said, waving his arms around to show emphasis on certain things, "Lo and behold, he whipped around, and was Seifer! And Roxas just like, came out and all hell broke loose from there, yeah. Thank God Axel and the others were there to help evacuate everyone. I'd kill myself if Kairi got hurt. Anyway, so that's the story."

"Very elaborately described." Larxene scoffed, "I could do ten times better."

"Oh really?" Axel asked. Everyone groaned, the same thought on their minds, _'Here we go again...'_

"Yeah really!"

"Is that the best you could come up with, **Ant?**"

"Is that the best YOU can come up with, **Rudolph**?" Larxene replied, smirking.

"I don't want to come up with anything better, 'cause I might just hurt your feelings. You wouldn't like that, would you?" He asked, flicking her bangs again. She growled, and then she must of thought of something calming, because her facial expression completely relaxed.

"You lost the best, by the way." She stated.

"Did not! Did you SEE the wine bottle I was carrying around?"

"Did too! Well, maybe you would've acting more like a drunken pirate if it was actually FILLED WITH WINE!"

"Did not! Well, maybe the bottle would've been filled with wine if wine WERE ALLOWED IN THE SCHOOL!"

"Did too! Find some way around it if you're serious on a bet!"

"Did not! I WAS serious!"

Everyone excluding the two groaned and turned around and huddled. "What should we do? Ducktape them? Give 'em a muzzle? ANYTHING to shut them up." Xigbar said, shaking his head, "Sooner or later, I'm going to need hearing aids, and I don't want them any sooner than I need them."

Demyx said, "I have an idea!" Everyone raised their eyebrows. It was an incredulous thing, _Demyx_ having an idea. But they decided to hear him out, since no one else had any ideas.

"Well, I think that..."

-

The group had split into two. One half was behind Larxene, the other half was behind Axel. Zexion, who happened to be behind Larxene, mouthed 'One...two...three!'

On the count of three, both groups pushed the person they were behind. Larxene and Axel, both not expecting the sudden push, fell forward and...

Everyone crossed their fingers as they watched in suspense. It happened in uber-slow motion. They fell forward slowly, but they managed to catch themselves before their lips touched. (Which was what the goal of pushing them was)

"What was that for!" Larxene snapped, "You could've made me touch that _thing_ with the spiky hair!"

Subconsciously, Sora felt his own spiky locks and then shook his head. He knew she meant Axel and not him, but next time, a little more detail, please?

Suddenly, Olette gasped. Everyone looked to her, and she just pointed at the bleachers. "I completely forgot he was there!" She whispered, as everyone's eyes traveled to where Olette was pointing to.

The object she was pointing at was a crouched-down dirty blonde whom Sora particularly loathed and thought was constantly high. Yep, that's right, Hayner.

"Then..." Sora panicked. _**He**_ of _**all**_ people, saw Roxas transform back? That was major blackmail, AND who knows who Hayner could tell! The whole school could know, and then things could go downhill from there.

"Maybe he didn't see it?" Demyx suggested, shrugging.

"Your optimism **sickens** me." Larxene spat, looking at the mullet-headed brunette in disgust.

"Sora, why don't you use your hypnotism again?" Olette questioned, looking back at the person she had just gone on a da--_**friendly outing**_ with. She didn't really see what the big deal was, she trusted him enough. Although, Sora didn't really like him so that might contribute to it...

"Uhhh, I don't think that's going to work this time. Okay, group huddle again!" Sora called, and everyone group huddled once more.

They all brainstormed one or two ideas, but none of them seemed to be possible, and they were all kind of dumb. Like the one where Demyx suggested that they should just tell him Sora and Roxas weren't the same person. So much for that moment of intelligence. Larsa had suggested that he tell Hayner that he wears a wig, but then, what about the beams of light? At that, Olette suggested that Sora could tell him that he's actually an actor and he was just practicing for his new role on a new movie not yet released. But to that, Zexion questioned as to why cameras weren't there.

And then it was back to square one all over again. After throwing out multiple ideas, it seemed hopeless. "I guess you'll just have to suck it up and tell him." Xemnas finally suggested.

"That's a good idea!" Everyone, including Olette and excluding Sora, agreed.

"No it's not!" Sora disagreed, "Why don't we just pretend it never happened? We'll just say I was preparing to audition for the Winter play this year, and that's why there were no cameras!"

"The Holidays ARE coming soon." Larsa added, rubbing his chin, "So Sora's idea might be better. After all, we can't force Sora to go along with our plan. He's the one with the alter ego, he should be the one that decides what to do. It's his responsibility."

"Thank you, Larsa." Sora said.

"I hope you trust me now." The President said, knowing that Sora and Roxas didn't like him.

"Nope," Sora said, turning around, "I still hate your guts."

"SORA!" Olette shouted, punching him in the arm, "This is the PRESIDENT you're talking to! Show some respect!"

"Why?" He asked, turning back around to face them all, "It's not like you can hold me back a year or anything."

"True, but," Larsa seemed to think for a moment, "Now, it's not like I would do this, but I COULD get you kicked off of the Blitzball team."

"Fine!" Sora mumbled, and then, very sweetly, said, "I do **not** like you." He glanced at Olette, "Happy now?"

"Very." She said, content with his response.

"Huzzah!" Axel cheered, "This calls for a party!"

"And beer!" Luxord added.

"Three cheers to that!" Axel said, and Larxene sighed.

"I don't even think you're _**old**_ enough to drink yet, Rudolph."

"Well, neither are you!"

"It's not illegal if no one catches me!"

Everyone sighed, turned around, and just ignored it this time.

'_Hey, Sora.'_ Roxas said, _'I'm worried.'_

'**Bout what? Axel and Larxene?'** Sora asked, though that was a dumb question. Seifer appeared during a blitzball game, and now Hayner knows their secret. Of course he'd be worried! And now that Seifer's back, he has to worry about Naminé, too...

'_No,_ _Seifer. He's back...and stronger than before. And this time, he has people on his side.'_

'**Don't worry about it, Roxas! Light always prevails!'** Sora said triumphantly, only to have Roxas sigh.

'_I'm not too sure about that. I just have a really bad feeling about this whole situation. Something terrible is going to happen to somebody close to us or something.'_ Roxas said, then sighed, _'I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be pessimistic. It's just a hunch, that's all. Nothing to be worried about.'_

But Roxas' hunches are _**never**_ wrong.

_**Part 4: Season of Light End**_

* * *

OH NOEZ THE HUNCH OF DOOM! Well, thanks, Roxas, for screwing a character out of their life! Gosh. I appreicate that. D: I apologize in advance for spelling errors. All you authors out there will sympathize with me. Isn't proofreading **_painstakingly_** BORING? Sorry. I'm lazy and wanted to get this up before the Holidays **_really_** started. :D 

Oh, I just finished FFX-2 and am now playing FFXII.(OMG, I'LL FINALLY BE ABLE TO GET REKS AND VAAN'S PERSONALITY STRAIGHT! BOOYAH!) So, yeah. I guess I'm a little behind in the FF department, huh? It's just...when FFXII came out, I was SO DEPRESSED that the two out of the three hottest characters in the game die right in the 'prologue'. (I won't spoil anything, promise) But then I finally made it up to the part where Vaan meets Balthier and Fran and Fran's voice is AWESOME and Balthier's voice is AWESOME, and he makes up the last member of the three hot characters. So, yeah. OKAY I'LL STOP BLABBING ABOUT FINAL FANTASY! Gosh. I just can't help it, y'know? It's just...The plot and characters so deep.

Aaaaanywaaaay, back to the story. Hm. So Hayner knows, huh? Wonder what he's going to do with that knowledge? Wonder who he's gonna TELL? And why is he speaking a different language? (It might not be as obvious as you think) And is it just me, or is he trying to pull the move on Olette? How is Sora gonna take that? Oh, and how did Hayner pull off the elevator trick? And yay, the Holidays are coming! And with a blast, too. I'm not gonna say what this blast is, but I will just say Sora's going to have his hands full for the Holidays. :D I know it was kind of random that I skipped Halloween, but I can't help it! I was listening to Celine Dion's Christmas CD, right? And I heard Mariah Carey's 'All I Want For Christmas is You' song and I got a brilliant idea. :D:D

Have fun guessing guys:D I heard Chanukkah's today, right? Happy Holidays for everyone who's celebrating.:D


	10. Where Has All the Light Gone?

Disclaimer: I don't own KH, but maybe I'll see the rights to it under my tree this year! With a big red ribbon, to boot! Hey, you never know. ;) I don't own Love Connection either. I love that show, though.

Angels in Flight: Towa no Shirube

Chapter 45/10: **W**here Has All the Light Gone? (Aftermath of 2000 Years, Part Three)

"Sora! Sora, look!"

"Ugh...five more minutes..." The brunette mumbled, turning away from the voice that was trying to pry him out of really sweet dreams...

"Soraaaa, guess what?" No reply, so whoever was trying to wake him up continued, "Kairi's here to announce her love for you!"

"WHAT? KAIRI'S HERE!" Sora jolted straight out of bed, ran to the bathroom and came out with a toothbrush hanging out of his mouth as he multi-tasked; brushing his teeth and putting a shirt on simultaneously. "I gotta get ready!" He mumbled.

"It was just to wake you up." Olette, the person who had been trying to get him to wake up, laughed, sitting on the bed, "I'm surprised that you got up so fast. Usually it takes you fifteen minutes or a cold glass of water to actually get you out of bed."

Sora sighed in aggravation, going into the bathroom across the hall. When he came out, five minutes later, he was fully dressed and didn't have his toothbrush hanging out of his mouth. Then, he yawned and looked over at the clock, "OH MY GOD!" He exclaimed, so loud, that Roxas, who had been sleeping, awoke with a start.

'_WHAT! What! What's the matter!' _He asked in a non-asking way, quite alert and poised.

"Nothing..." Sora replied to Roxas, "It's just that SCHOOL BEGAN TWO HOURS AGO! OLETTE WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE AND WHY AREN'T WE THERE AND WHAT ABOUT YOUR PERFECT ATTENDANCE OH MY GOD IT'S RUINED!!" He then clenched his fists and said, "I bet HAYNER snuck into our house last night and put sleeping pills in our water!"

She laughed; usually she'd be the one fretting over her perfect attendance record, "Look out the window, Sora." Olette said calmly. He looked at her suspiciously, then walked to his window and pulled back the curtain. Snow was swirling around, creating a white breeze that gently carried the delicate little flakes to the ground.

"IT'S SNOWING!" He shouted, dancing a little jig, "IT'S SNOWING, IT'S SNOWING!" He burst out in song, "_Oh, the weather outside is frightful, and the fire is so delightful, and here are lyrics I don't know, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!!!"_

"Yes, Sora, they cancelled school. There's a lot of ice on the streets and they don't want anyone slipping or something." Olette explained, and added, "And there's a lot of snow on the ground. Uncle Zack and father are shoveling it all away from the driveway."

"Then...if we don't have to go to school today, how come you're so dressed up? We're not...going anywhere, are we?" Sora asked suspiciously. As much as he loved family outings, he hated fancy restaurants. Everyone was always telling him to keep his voice down and they had really funky things on the menus, like duck butt and dog snout, like at _some_ restaurant Roxas had gone to.

"Well...I was going to ask Mother..." Olette trailed off, grabbing Sora's hand and dragging him downstairs, "Come on!"

Once they got downstairs, they saw their mother and Tifa sitting on a plaid couch sipping hot chocolate. They knew it was hot chocolate because Tifa couldn't stand coffee. She claimed she'd rather bang her head on a wall before drinking what she called 'the vile concoction'.

"Hey Sora, Roxas." They both greeted, smiles gracing their faces.

"Did he say yes?" Aerith asked, looking at Sora, then back at Olette.

"Well, I didn't really ask him yet." Olette said, lacing her hands behind her back, "I don't know, it may not be any of my business, really..."

"You're his sister." Tifa said, "Of course it's your business."

"Yes, but...That's not what I **meant.**" Olette said, seeming a little aggravated. Aerith whispered something to Tifa, who then 'ahhhhed' and nodded.

"He _can_ be pretty protective. But I don't see why he'd say no." She shrugged, "I think it's nice you want to meet her."

"Her?" Sora repeated, rubbing the back of his head. "You can't mean Kairi! You must mean..."

'_Naminé?'_ Roxas asked, _'You want to meet Naminé, Olette?_'

"Yes, I'd very much like to!" She said, smiling, "I heard from Tifa that she was very beautiful. I really want to meet her, and today seemed like the perfect day because we don't have school!"

'_I don't see the problem with that.'_ Roxas said, _'Though I hope she's awake.'_

"Awake?" Olette asked, tilting her head.

"You'll see." Sora answered, then added, "Ooooh, so THAT'S why you're dressed up. To go to see Nadine. Well, she's blind, sooo..."

"I thought it was Naminé?" Aerith asked, slightly confused because she could not hear Roxas like everyone else in the room.

"It is." Tifa answered, nodding, "How are you guys going to get there?"

"Teleportation, how else?" Sora asked, "I mean, it's too cold to be flying around outside, and, like, Roxas has never really _carried_ a person while flying before..."

'_I have SO! Well, actually...no, wait, yes, yes I have.'_

"Hey, do you think it would be a good idea if I separated from Roxas? I want to meet her, too! You know, since we haven't officially met." Sora explained, waving his hands around for emphasis.

"I think it'd be fine," Tifa replied, "And if Roxas, you know, gets a little shakey you can just say either of you need to go."

'_Sounds like a plan to me.'_ Roxas said, walking right out of Sora. He brushed the dust off of his clothes(although there was none) and made sure his hair was all in order. "You guys ready?"

"Ready as ever!" Sora and Olette piped.

"Alright, see you later!" Roxas said to Tifa and Aerith, grabbing onto Sora and Olette's shoulders.

In an instant, the trio arrived in front of the orphanage. Snow flurried around the trio, and luckily someone had shoveled away snow from the driveway, but their ankles were still surrounded in snow. "We shoulda brought jackets..." Sora mumbled, brushing off some snowflakes that were visible on Olette's brown hair. He knew his sister liked to be very prim, neat, and organized. Sora really couldn't care less about the snow getting in his hair. He wondered if Roxas minded the snowflakes in his hair, and then wondered why he even cared in the first place. Then he answered his question: To get his mind off of the freezing numbness eating away at his nose, fingers, and ears.

"WILL YOU OPEN THE DOOR BEFORE WE **FREEZE TO DEATH!"** Sora yelled in Roxas' ear, "This is NO time to be contemplating your decision to bring us here, and unless you want us to get hypothermia and possibly die, and hey, if I die, I hate to break it to you but you'll die too so unless you have a deathwish GET MOVING!"

Roxas jumped, mumbled an apology, and opened the door. The warm air greeted them like a bakery on a cold winter's day. Well, it was a cold winter's day, so what kind of analogy is that?

Once inside, they saw little kids playing around on a giant carpeted area, which had some couches where some teenagers, not much younger than themselves(well, Sora and Olette, anyway) were conversing. At the front desk was the familiar face of Reks, who seemed to be scribbling something down on a piece of paper, and then instantly looked up at the noise.

"Oh, it's Ven." He said, standing up and putting his pen down, "And you brought friends..."

"They're like my family," Roxas said, smiling, "It's really cold outside, so what could be better than a visit from us to you guys? I doubt you get many visitors when it's snowing."

"We barely get any visitors wishing to adopt anymore," Reks said, walking away as the trio hurriedly followed, "It's a shame, too, because around the Holidays all of the kids always get so excited, thinking that this year, they'll get what they want the most: parents."

"That's so sad..." Olette frowned, "At least they get gifts, right?"

"The other years, we've been able to afford one gift per kid, but this year, our income is down. You can probably see that; all the owner could afford was a wreath for the front door. And I would give them gifts if I could, but I can't. I'm saving up so I can take care of Vaan and Naminé when I get an apartment." Reks sighed, then said, "I'm sorry. My personal life isn't your business."

"Hey!" Sora said, "I have an idea! Ro--" Roxas and Olette glanced at him, before he quickly corrected himself, "Ven would be happy to provide some Christmas carols to brighten up the mood!"

"And Sora and I," Olette said, gesturing to Sora and herself, "Could tell Christmas stories to the little kids!"

"Yeah! We'll gather up everyone we can! You know, we have connections, so we _might_ get a big company to donate some of their money to make these kids happy this year!" Sora said, obviously meaning Reno and his adoptive father and their OBVIOUS riches. If they could pimp out the Student Council office like that, then imagine what joy he could bring to these kids!

"Would you really lend us your voice this Holiday, Ven?" Reks asked, looking at Roxas.

He thought this over. The idea highly appealed to him because A. What better way to spread Christmas cheer than a song for all to hear, B. He'd bring joy to all of the orphans, and his angelic-ness was all for spreading kindness and joy to those less fortunate, C. He liked to sing, and hey, if you got it, flaunt it, and, finally, D. This would build up major brownie points with Reks and Vaan, and they'd trust/respect him more. So, with a grin on his face, he said, "Sure! There's nothing I would rather do than spread Holiday cheer to all those who would like to hear!"

"Great!" Reks smiled back, turning around and continuing to walk through the hallways that seemed to stretch on for miles, "I'll have to talk it over with the owner, but I'm sure she'd be delighted with the idea."

Finally, Reks stopped in front of a room. He opened it and looked inside. Another dirty-blonde, bearing much resemblance to Reks, whom Roxas identified as Vaan, was leaning against a wall, and looked at them when they arrived. He got off the wall and walked towards them.

"Hey, Reks, Ven and...?"

"I'm Sora!" Sora chirped, then pointed towards his sister, "And this is my twin, Olette."

"I'm Vaan." Vaan said, and shook each of their hands. "I take it you're here for Naminé? She's getting very popular these days." He then mumbled, "With all of those waiters from Castle Oblivion coming here to see her..." The trio instantly sighed in relief, glad that Riku/Seifer had not visited.

"Sooo, this girl..." Sora trailed off, not saying her name because he knew he'd say 'Nadine' again, and he didn't want to tick off the brothers because that would not be a good thing, "Where is she?"

"Right here!" The flaxen-haired girl jumped off of the bed she had been sitting on, and turned around to face them. "I'm Naminé, it's a pleasure to meet you both!"

"I'm Olette." Olette said, a teeny bit shocked that she was wearing bandages over her eyes. She knew the blonde was blind, but why wear bandages?

"And _**I**_ am Sora!" Sora said.

"I think Ven's told you about me, right?" She asked, smiling. Roxas exchanged glances with Sora and Olette, who shrugged.

"What makes you think that, Naminé?" Vaan asked, he and his brother crossing their arms.

"I just..." She laughed, "I don't know," Then she shrugged, "I just have a feeling he talks about me. Don't tell me if I'm right or not, because now I feel special!"

"Aw, how sweet." Olette said, clasping her hands together and placing them beside her cheek, tilting her head in a dreamy stance, and then continued on with a sigh, "Everyone _**always**_ says the Holidays are the most romantic!"

"Oh!" Naminé seemed surprised, "It's the Holidays? I love the Holidays! You know, Ven, I have a gift for you."

"You do?" Roxas, Reks, and Vaan asked simultaneously.

"Yes! But, you'll only get it when the Holidays are actually here!" She said, and laughed, "I think you'll be really surprised!"

"Ven is going to have a Holiday concert soon. He'll sing some carols and everyone will be there. You can give it to him then." Reks said.

"Oh! Christmas carols! I love Chirstmas carols!" Naminé said excitedly. "I hope you won't mind if I sing along! I just love the spirit of all of the Holiday songs!"

"Oh, me too!" Olette said, snapping out of her daydreaming, "Some of them are just so pretty! Oh, Ven, I would love to sing along, too!"

"Sure." Roxas said, stuffing his hands in his pockets, "We'll have sing-a-longs and karoake and gifts and it will be a good time!"

"When will it be?" Sora asked, "I'm just so excited!" He said, and by the way he said that, you'd think he was being sarcastic. But he was not, whether that's believable or not. Sora loved the Holidays, and his favorite part was the door-to-door caroling he and Olette did every year as a tradition. But now, he got the chance to sing a song; something he never did because Roxas always took the spot of the singer, since his voice was so magnificent.

"We have to talk it over with the owner, first." Reks said, "And she's out doing some grocery shopping. She won't be back for awhile."

"But we're having it." Roxas decided, "I'm going to do it for free anyway, and I can just raise my voice if people have trouble hearing me. There's no cost involved, so why would it not be okay?"

"You'll...really do it for free?" Reks asked.

"Of course. Just think of it as _**my**_ gift. From all of us," Roxas gestured to Olette, Sora, and himself, "To everyone here."

"We'll bring as many people as we can." Olette said, "Ven is very good at gathering people together."

"Yeah, everybody listens to him." Sora said, placing his hands on his hips, "Not that he's commanding or anything, but like...I dunno." He then scratched his head, trying to word what he was going to say, "It's just weird like that. When Ven talks, people listen."

"Thank you, guys, but we're not here to talk about _**me.**_" Roxas said, not wanting the brothers to think he was some kind of stuck-up jerk. Then they'd _**really**_ hate him.

"I think people listen to him," Naminé added, ('_Can't we just get off of the damn subject already??!'_ Were Roxas' exasperated thoughts) "Because he's an angel."

Roxas was speechless. He glanced at Sora, who was mouthing, 'How does _she _know?' and then at Olette who mouthed, 'You _told_ her?' He looked back at Naminé, unsure of what to say.

"I--I...I don't mean an actual angel!" She stuttered, sensing the tension in the air, "I mean like...he's such a sweetie-pie, you know?"

"S-Sweetie-pie?" Sora asked, doubling over in laughter. "Oh, man, that's good stuff. Sweetie pie..." He repeated, chuckling as he wiped a tear from his eye, "Oh-ho, Nadine, you're quite a joker."

"Naminé." Everyone quickly corrected him.

"So, you just mean he's an angel personality-wise?" Olette then questioned, and Naminé nodded, sitting down where she stood. Then Reks and Vaan sat down, and so did the trio, so they formed a little circle.

"Of course that's what I mean!" The blonde said, placing her hands on her knees, "Angels exist, but, I don't think any of them walk on the Earth anymore. Their place is in Heaven!"

"What do you mean, 'anymore'?" Roxas asked, taking a deep breath. Did she mean...? Could she mean...?

"Well, you know," Naminé turned red, "Way back when, angels had their own little town on the land. But it's not around today..."

"Because it got destroyed by an explosion. Right?" Roxas finished, deep in thought.

"Hmm." Naminé seemed to be in thought as well, and then she grinned. "You know," She tilted her head, "I'm really tired. You all should be going now." She then stood up and everyone else glanced at each other confusedly. Her face did not match what she was saying, and that was the cause of their confusion. Maybe she was happy she was tired? "Vaan, Reks, everybody, I'm going to sleep. Please, out of my room!"

Reks and Vaan shrugged, and the five got out of her room. Almost immediately, they heard Naminé singing a carol and she sounded really happy.

"I don't think she's sleeping." Olette laughed, and Roxas did too.

"I guess we should get going," Sora said, and shrugged, and then pointed his thumb towards Roxas and Olette whom were still laughing, "They're acting a little wacky and that's making me nervous."

"We'll see you later." Vaan said, then nodded. Both he and his brother then gave Sora the blitzball sign for victory instead of the normal goodbye wave .

"Oh!" Sora would recognize that sign anywhere, "You two blitz?"

"Oh, you blitz too?" Reks asked, and the brunette nodded.

"I'd love to play your team against mine sometime!" Sora said, waving as he joined Roxas and Olette in the cold snow of outside.

Quickly(before Sora complained again), Roxas teleported all three back to their peaceful adobe. "Well, that was weird." Sora commented, scratching his head. From Naminé singing carols when she supposedly wanted to go to sleep to Olette and Roxas having a strange outburst of laughter, to Reks and Vaan suddenly admitting they blitzed; this sure was an unusual day. Well, it wasn't like it was out of the ordinary for Sora. After all, he had an alter ego who was an angel. How normal could a day _get_ with a family like his?

"Oh, you're all back already?" Aerith, who must have been in the kitchen, walked in the living room, where the trio quickly took a seat. Tifa soon followed, and asked them how it went.

"Well," Roxas looked at Tifa, "Naminé...she _**remembers**_ Mizu no Akashi and The World That Never Was."

"What?" Sora, Olette, and Aerith asked. They had never heard of either of those places, which was surprisingly, especially to Olette, who thought that she knew the whole story so well she could tell it backwards.

"Mizu no Akashi...is the city where the fallen angels used to reside." Making a not-so-dramatic entrance was the bandaged-up Cloud with a snowy shovel over his shoulder. Right behind him was Zack Fair, none other than the twins' favorite uncle, even if he wasn't actually related.

"Oh! Cloud! Zack! I told you two to leave the shovels by the door!" Aerith panicked, standing up, "Now you'll get snow all over the carpet and it will get all wet and...!"

"Aerith, you worry too much." Zack said, he and Cloud placing the shovels near the door as they took a seat.

"Wait, you said it was where the fallen angels used to reside? Well, what happened to it?" Olette asked curiously.

"Uh..." Roxas laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his head, "Well, you see...what happened was that Seifer was going to marry Naminé, right? I obviously didn't want that to happen, but I was in jail at that time..." At this, Olette and Aerith gasped, "Don't worry, I'm here now, aren't I? Anyway, so Axel busted me out and we went to where the wedding was taking place. So I knocked Seifer into a portal of light, but he created a portal of darkness at the same time, sending us to Betwixt and Between. So we fought and fought and fought...and then Seifer decided that enough was enough. He created a giant bomb made out of darkness, and sent it my way. I opened a portal behind me and the bomb went through there...but I forgot where I had sent it too."

"And it turns out," Tifa continued, "That my adorable little blondie," She then pinched his cheeks which made him slap her hand away and say, 'Mom! I'm over 2,000 years old! Hardly a kid by human standards!', but she just smiled and continued, "Sent the explosion to Mizu no Akashi. It exploded...but luckily, no one had really been living there because Roxas _accidentally_ scattered all of the angel's wings to the corners of the world, so he basically destroyed the whole population of fallen angels..."

"It became known as the World That Never Was. Where the darkness resides." Cloud finished.

"Darkness?" Sora questioned, "Is that where Seifer lives?"

"No. He's referring to Sephiroth, Kadaj, Loz, Yazoo, Vincent, Lucrecia, Marlene, Gippal, Rikku...everyone from Hell, basically. Except Seifer, who 'lives' inside of Riku..." Tifa said, trailing off and nodding her head.

"I don't even know who half those people are." Olette said, pursing her lips as she shrugged, "Oh we--WAIT! Isn't Gippal our History teacher?"

"Yeah." Sora nodded, "And I saw Marlene in the halls, too!"

"They're looking out for you, Sora. Because they know Seifer has come." Cloud said, crossing his arms.

"And when we see him again, we're gonna kick 'im in the spleen!" Sora said enthusiastically, punching his fist into his open palm.

"Spleen?" Everyone questioned. Sora shrugged as silence ensued. Roxas started humming some carols, and Sora was kicking his feet against the couch. Aerith, Cloud, and Zack were talking about god knows what, and Tifa seemed to be in deep thought.

Olette looked around. Everyone seemed to be busy, but her. It was getting a little too crowded even in the spacious living room, although there was only one guest. She stood up, and suddenly declared, "I'm going out!"

Everyone looked at her, and then Sora said, "Oh! I'll come, too!"

"Why can't I just go alone? I'm only going to be walking around Twilight Town!" Olette said, exasperatedly. It wasn't like she was going out to get high or make out with Hayner or something.

"It's too dangerous to be out by yourself." Cloud said, as Olette wrapped her favorite orange scarf(which happened to be lying on the couch) around her neck, and put on her equally orange jacket and zippered it up. She wondered if she should go up and get her favorite orange earmuffs, but decided that just putting on the fuzzy black ones would be enough to keep her ears nice and toasty. Besides, any respectable girl would know that if you put on too much of one color it's just tacky.

"Why don't _I_ go with her?" Zack offered, "Unlike you both, _I_ am cool."

"Hey!" Sora shouted, "I'm cool!" However, Cloud did not seem to be bothered by this proclamation. You could tell by the blonde's face that he did not care if he was cool, not cool, had the right trends, or whatever. (But no matter what Cloud did, people always seemed to follow in his footsteps. It was either that he's just THAT handsome or he's become an icon for everyone. Somehow, he thought it was both)

Olette laughed, "Okay, Uncle Zack, you can come with me." She then opened and walked out of the door, stepping over the shovels.

Once they got outside of the house, Zack said, "So, who's this boy you're meeting up with?"

"W-What?!?" Olette's face turned scarlet, and she immediately thought of Hayner when he mentioned 'boy'. _'No, no, noooo!!! What am I thinking!'_ She thought wildly, then took a composed breath and said, "N-no one! I-I mean, I wasn't here to meet anyone...um...I just wanted to take a breath of the nice winter air."

"I see." Zack said, though you could tell he was doubting the credibility of Olette's actually true words, "Well, I'll be off. Just call if this boy of yours gives you trouble, I'll be around." With that, Zack went off.

Olette blinked, and then waved. Sighing, she then walked a separate way from where Zack had gone off to. Silence followed her every footstep, aside from the crunching noise she was making due to the snow. Her breath came out in clouds, and suddenly she was wishing she brought gloves, as she dug her hands into her fluffy(and poofy) orange jacket.

She saw a group of sprightly carolers pass her, and just having them pass by brought a sudden festive atmosphere to the world. Olette could see that the people they have just caroled to were looking out of their foggy windows with charmed smiles on their faces. _'Aren't the carolers_ _a little early this year?'_ She thought, then shrugged and continued on her way, _'I guess there's no too early of a time to carol. Maybe I should've brought Sora and we could've gone caroling together. Oh well...maybe next week.'_

She continued along, passing some lovely young streetsweepers(who tipped their hats to her) and shouted 'Happy Holidays, Miss!' to which she then bowed her head and repeated the good wishes to them as well. "The streets are certainly lively tod--oh!" As she traveled closer to where the Old Mansion lie, she could see a crowd surrounding the giant hole in the wall(Which was Roxas' fault, but he said it was a good connection to nature for humans. Good cover-up, Rox).

Quickly, she made her way over to what the people were staring at. "What is it?" She asked someone she kind of recognized from school, "Why is everybody crowding?" Olette couldn't see over the sea of heads, since she wasn't exactly model height.

"I don't know!" The other replied, equally frustrated(and short). They both tried standing on their tiptoes. No such luck. After an eternity, some tall people moved, and they quickly filled in their space like jelly filling to a doughnut.

"Oh! That's..." Olette blinked. Everyone was watching Kairi ice skate on a really gigantic puddle of frozen water that must have been cleared of snow. The emerald-eyed girl wasn't surprised; usually that foresty area received a lot of rain and with the combined cold temperature and snow...

"She's amazing!" People whispered many a compliment about her, and Olette had to say that Kairi was fantastic. She was glad and sad that she didn't bring Sora now. She was glad because he'd be drooling all over everyone, and she was sad because Kairi's little recital for everyone was quite magical.

The auburn-haired cheerleader then performed a couple of spins before bowing to everyone. Suddenly, everyone magically had flowers in their hands that Olette hadn't noticed before(maybe Hayner was secretly teaching everyone how to make flowers magically appear) and were now throwing the flowers at Kairi, congratulating her on her performance before they left. Soon, only she was left standing. As Kairi picked up the flowers, she spoke up, "That was really great!"

Kairi looked up, and then said, "Oh, thanks. You're Olette, right? Sora's sister?"

"Yeah." She nodded, and helped her pick up the abundance of flowers.

"Hey, would you mind if we had a little girl chat for a second?" Kairi suddenly asked, seeming nervous. Olette blinked, and then nodded slowly. Experience told her that ice-skating cheerleaders were not best friends with fashion-senseless 'nerds'(Though Olette thought she had good fashion sense, a sour experience with an obnoxious cheerleader told her otherwise).

"Um, sure..." Olette handed her the flowers she had picked up, and Kairi gave her thanks. With her ice-skates on and all, Kairi walked(more like stomped) her way through the snow-covered forest, skating on the patches of ice. Olette followed(almost slipping once or twice), wondering what the auburn-haired girl could possibly want to talk about.

"I don't think anyone can hear us from all the way in here. So, you know your brother, right?" Kairi asked, and the brunette nodded, "Weeeell..." Kairi looked around again, just for reassurance, "He's not with you, right?"

"Right. I left him at the house." Olette said, getting excited. She loved to hear heartfelt confessions! And Sora was head-over-heels for her and...wait till he heard that KAIRI was wondering about HIM!

"Good. I feel like I can trust you. Don't betray this trust, or else it will be the worst mistake you have ever made in your entire life." She said menacingly, and Olette gulped and nodded. Kairi then giggled, flipped her hair, and clapped her hands, "Oh, good! Okay...so you know your brother, right?"

Olette nodded tiredly. She had already said this! Kairi may be pretty and friendly, but her brain was probably the size of a nut, "Yes, I know him..." She replied, wanting her to get on with the mushy-gushy love confessions. Suddenly, Olette felt like she was the host of Love Connection, trying to get Sora and Kairi together.

"Weell...I've been meaning to ask you this for sometime, and well, now's the time! Okay, so, wait a minute..." Kairi then looked through her sweatshirt pocket and fished out a notepad and a pencil, "So. What qualities does he like in a girl! Go!"

"Huh? Qualities?" Olette asked, and Kairi then scribbled down something furiously, as if she were trying to drive the poor pencil clear through the small little notepad. "Well...wait, why do you ask?"

Kairi sighed in frustration, "I thought you were smart! Can't you tell?!?"

"It's not because you..." Olette's eyes then widened, "Oh my god. Are you saying what I think you're saying? You...you...you..._**like**_ my b--"

Kairi immediately clapped her hands over her mouth, and the cheerleader looked around. "Shhh! We don't want anyone to hear! And...and yes..." She said, flushing a deep cherry color as she took her hands away from Olette's mouth, "I do like...um...Sky."

"Sky?"

"Codenames! Duh!" Kairi said, and sighed, "Besides, Sora means Sky, so it makes sense! Anyway, continue..."

"Well..." Olette bit her lip, "I think he likes you too."

"R-Really?!?" Kairi asked, her face lighting up, "Oh, this is wonderful news! Let's go!" Kairi then hooked her arm with Olette's, and walked(well, as much as she could with her ice skates on) in a merry way, singing a happy tune. Olette didn't want to damper Kairi's mood, but she knew Sora would _kill_ her if he found out she told him! Oh, what did it matter if they liked each other?

"You know," Kairi said(Olette wondered if the auburn-haired cheerleader knew where she was going), "I think we'd make a perfect match. 'Cause, you know, my uncle is a famous blitz player. Has Sora ever talked about a guy named Jecht?"

"Oh my _god."_ Olette stopped, "If Sora knew you were _related_ to the man, he would kiss the ground you walk on. He talks about him all the time. In fact, even _**I**_ know things only a stalker would know. He's number three on the Zanarkand Abes, on offense, and he always gets goals in with his famous..."

"Sublimely Magnificent Jecht Shot Mark III." Kairi finished, "I could probably get him to autograph one of his old uniforms for Sora, if it'd make him happy."

"Happy? He'd be ecstatic! It'd make his entire _lifetime._" Olette said. Sora usually didn't talk about the magnificence of Jecht anymore because Roxas was tired of hearing about him babbling on and on and on and on about the guy! Who CARES if he once scored thirty-seven consecutive times in five minutes? Who CARES if he tattoed the symbol of the Zanarkand Abes on his chest?(Well, Sora apparently does, but that's not the point!)

"Really? Maybe I'll invite Uncle Jecht over one day and have Sora meet him in person!" Kairi wondered, then looking to Olette, "What do you think?"

"Knowing Sora, he would probably grovel and hug Jecht's leg and not let go of him, and when Jecht DOES speak to him, he'll probably faint." Olette said, and then said in her Sora-imitating voice, "'Oh, that guy's a blitzball legend!'"

They both laughed at her imitation, because it was quite comically accurate. Kairi then stopped when they reached The Usual Spot, where her sneakers were. She took off her ice skates and put her sneakers on. "Ah, that feels good!"

"Um, see you in school, then?" Olette asked, and Kairi nodded.

"Yeah! I'll see you around! See ya, Olette! Tell 'Sky' I said hello!" She said, waving as she turned around and left. Olette waved back, and sighed as she left.

She sat where she usually did in the Usual Spot, which was where she, Sora, Riku, and a bunch of other unimportant people usually gathered to just chillax and have sea salt ice cream. She noticed that beside her, was an open book. "How weird!" She mumbled to herself, closing the book to look at the cover. The words **'Sykelym Dnaycina'** were imprinted in it. The book itself looked very, very old, the pages were all yellow and there was no back cover. She opened it and tried to read what was written inside, but it was written in a different language. She could see that there were drawings of things, and soon she had an idea of what it was. "A...fantasy story? Or...a spellbook? Is that possible?" She asked herself, tilting her head.

Olette wondered if she should take it with her or not. On one hand, if she left it here, the snow could deteriorate it within a second because it was so old. On the other, if she took it, it could be considered stealing. Deciding that if the book was really important in the first place, then the person who had left it here wouldn't have forgotten it, Olette decided to take it. After all, maybe Tifa or Roxas would be able to decipher the language. And besides, her inner bookworm did not allow her to leave such an old book lying out in the snow. It was probably so old that someone discarded it here. Yes, that had to be what it was.

So, she picked up the book, and decided to go on home, unaware of who's **disappearance** she was bringing home...

* * *

**_WAIT!_** Before those of you who like to translate Al Bhed translate it, wait a minute. There is no significance to 'Sykelym Dnaycina', in fact, I will tell you what it means: Magical Treasure(See? No significance to anything WHATSOEVER). I just picked it because it sounded awesome. 

Oh, oh, oh. If you're wondering about the late update...um. I wasn't going to update until someone on my alert list posted up a new chapter(I got REALLY tired of waiting). That happened to be kinmoku2, give it up to her!

That reminds me. I bolded the word disappearance for a reason! Remember it well, everybody. REMEMBER IT:D

P.S. That is ALL I am saying:D Have fun guessing, guys! And...have a happy **Noel**(teehee), everyone who celebrates!


	11. A King Without a Crown

Disclaimer: I don't own anything! Ohhhhh, but if I did...

**P.S.** I don't know if I told you guys this, and I know I didn't, but I'm telling you now. Larsa(yes. The one you all hate 'cause of Roxas) is my favorite character from FFXII. I love the kid. He is so cute and I just adore his voice. His fashion sense is definitely a major win, too, I always laugh when I see his lime green boots and his little cape.(SUPER LARSA!!) And he's really intelligent, too. Of course, Balthier and Reks tie in a close second(Rasler is third, in case you guys cared), but Larsa and I are like this -crosses fingers-. So yeah, you all may hate him, but just remember that he _**might**_ do something good in the future. Because I really whole-heartedly love him. (Who _**hasn't**_ been obsessed with an anime/manga/video game character? Come on. Admit it. You have.)

Nywaiz, thanks to lebrezie, kinmoku2, Orika(love the Holiday poem :D), Random, roxas-kh, imp4ever and Ellie! Sorry I forgot to thank everyone in the last two chapters. I was a little er, forgetful.

**P.S.S. **The title refers to a character in the story. If you're smart, or lebrezie, you'll probably guess if you've been paying attention. :D Have fun guessing guys!

Angels in Flight: Eien no Tobira

Chapter 46: **A** King Without a Crown

"...And so, peace will be restored within the Seniors and the younger classmen again." Larsa finished with his mildly entertaining speech, and although it had kept the attention of some kids, such as Olette, it bored the living daylights out of others, like Sora. The whole school was stuffed into the large auditorium, and the brave President, Larsa, was currently delivering a speech on why equality between the grades was important.

"Larsa's words are really moving!" One of Olette's friends, Penelo, was saying. Olette nodded.

"No wonder he's the President!" She whispered back, and then looked at Hayner, who was on the other side of her, "What do you think of Larsa's speech, Hayner?"

"It sucks. I hate it." He answered blandly. He seemed either really hyper or really worried; he had not even been paying attention to the speech, and Olette could tell this because he was constantly looking around. Under people's seats, above people's seats, occasionally standing up and viewing the area...you name it, and if it's a form of surveying the area, he covered it.

"Did you have just a _little_ too much sugar this morning?" She asked in a joking way.

"Just..." He trailed off, looking at her, "Shut up for a minute, 'kay? I need my undivided attention on finding _**that stupid thing**_...After I find it, you'll have my undivided attention, 'kay, creampuff?"

"What stupid thing?" Olette asked, blinking when he called her 'creampuff'. Though slightly flattering, it felt like he was just calling her 'chick' or something. Well, what can you expect from Hayner?

"Just some stupid thing." He mumbled, getting down on his knees and looking under the seat, "Don't sweat it, 'kay?(what was with him and the 'kays'?) My problem, not yours." Then, after he decided he couldn't find _**whatever**_ he was looking for, he sat in his seat and tapped his foot incessantly, as if waiting to get out of there. Luckily for him, Larsa had almost completed his wonderful speech.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the auditorium, Rai was having a little speech of his own in his seat, to Sei--I mean, Riku, Fuu, and Sora(**'Even though he's your arch-rival in disguise, he's still my best friend. 'Sides, if I'm right here beside him, I can wack him down before he causes any trouble!'). **

"Football is the greatest, y'know? So much better than those dumb, underwater blitzers, y'know?" Rai was saying. Sora was trying his hardest to not get mad and pick a fight with the burly football player. All that was coming out of Rai's mouth was 'blahblahblahblah football is the greatest! Blahblahblahblah blitzball sucks!' and being a blitzer, Sora was really tempted to knock him out.

"Could you please." Sora said with clenched teeth, glaring at Rai over Fuu's head, "Shut. Up. About. Football."

"I'm sorry, y'know?" Rai said, and just when they thought he'd stop, he added, "It's just that blitzball sucks, y'know?"

That was it. The last straw. Sora had it. "How dare you!" He said, "How _**dare**_ you badmouth blitzball in front of me! You know what? I've been TRYING to patiently ignore your ignorance, but I've had it with you! Blitzball does _**not**_ suck. Football sucks! I hate football. Hate it. Wish the sport would burn. In. **Hell." **

'_Woah, there, Sora. Calm down...We don't want to start a whole big scene here.'_ Roxas warned, as if it were bad enough _Hayner_ knows/suspects(well...everyone kind of left the excuse to Olette, so no one had really talked to him about it yet) their duality, but if everyone in the school knew? That would be bad.

'**Yeah, but! How can Rai just...just...AGH! He makes me so mad, I just wanna...'** Sora then took a deep breath and told himself to calm down.

"Hey! That's not very nice, y'know?" Rai said, "Riku, Fuu, ya agree with me too, right?"

Fuu turned to Riku, and Riku just shrugged. "It's all in a matter of opinion." He said calmly.

"Agreed." Fuu complied.

"Well, looks like you're wrong." Sora said smugly, glad that Rai was put in his place. Finally.

"Oh yeah?!?" Though, Rai did not seem like he wanted to hear what he had heard from his friends, "Ya wanna step outside? I'll beat you to a pulp, y'know?!?"

"Oh really?" Sora said, as they both stood up, "I'd like to take you up on that challenge!"

That would make it the _**second**_ time all eyes have been on a Hikari. Two, School. Zero, Hikari. Olette slapped her forehead and shook her head. _'As if it were bad enough to have all eyes on me the FIRST time around...now everyone is going to think we're attention whores!'_

"Please," Larsa said from over the microphone, "No fighting, no fighting."

As if on cue, everyone replied, 'Shakira, Shakira', in reminiscence of 'Hips Don't Lie', which happened to be a certain redheaded pyrophile's favorite song. Only _they_ know how many times _he_ had sung that in the shower.

"He started it, y'know?!?" Rai said quite immaturely, pointing at Sora, "He said football sucks!"

"I did not start it! Larsa, who do you honestly believe? Me, or that bumbling blockhead!" Sora said, pointing back at Rai.

"Yeah, well...he's a sugar-worshipping freak!" Rai shouted.

"Put your munny where your mouth is!" Sora growled, all of his patience finally snapping. Rai was just so obnoxious he could _**not**_ handle it anymore! God, and Roxas thought _**Seifer**_ was the jerk?

Suddenly, Larsa appeared, and was holding the arm of the bulky Rai. "If you fight now," Larsa replied calmly, "Both of you will be suspended. Do you understand? And Sora, fighting is not what is expected of a Student Council member." He let go of Rai's arm, and then looked at them.

Sora just shook his head, "How can you be taking _**his**_ side? He was the one who was badmouthing blitzball!"

"He was the one badmouthing football, y'know!" Rai said accusingly.

"You know what?" Sora said, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, "It's not even worth it." He then turned around, and walked right out of the auditorium. Olette had to applaud her brother's restraint, and soon, everyone was clapping, even Larsa and Hayner.

Rai growled and just sat down. The other members of the Student Council, who had been sitting in the front row, also got and walked down the aisle. When they got to the row Larsa was standing in, all twelve stopped. Some silent communication went on between them or something, because the President faced everyone and said, "Thank you for your attention!" and then ran out along with the twelve members. Olette stood up, wondering why they were following Sora.

Since she was his sister, she had to know, so she snuck out amongst all the chatter and chaos that had arisen after Larsa's departure. Once she made it outside the auditorium, she heard someone whisper, "Why are we sneaking around?"

Olette turned around, to find Hayner _**and**_ Penelo(when had she became a stalker?) were following her. "What are you two doing here?" She whispered, taking both of their arms and dragging them behind an art display of sculptured heads. The three heads of Olette, Hayner and Penelo blended in perfectly with the art display as they saw the Council surround Sora.

"Are you okay?" Reno asked.

Larxene huffed, "Of course he's not okay, idiot! He wouldn't have walked out of the auditorium if he were feeling fine!"

"Who's asking _**you**_? I asked Sora!" Reno said, placing his hands on his hips.

"Well I--"Larxene started before everyone from the Council yelled 'SHUT UP!' except for Demyx because he didn't want to get the big bad Seniors mad. Especially Larxene.

"I'm fine." Sora said in a frustrated tone, "It's just that...Seifer's turning everyone into _**jerks!**_"

Olette, Penelo, and Hayner listened intently to the conversation, before Hayner asked, "Who's Seifer?" He looked at Olette, and she gulped.

"Um..." She raked her mind for possible solutions, she didn't want to come up with something stupid like that whole 'Sora-hates-water' thing, which was positively the _**stupidest**_ excuse she had ever made up. Suddenly, Olette got a brilliant idea, "New kid."

"Oh, really?" Hayner didn't seem convinced, "**Hela mea. Paddan dryh mycd desa.**" He mumbled, and Penelo asked him what language it was, and he just said 'don't worry about it'.

"This is unfortunate." Larsa piped up, and Penelo budged Olette in the ribs.('Look! Look! There's Larsa! Isn't he such a cutie?')

"What do you mean 'unfortunate'! I was _**totally**_ unprepared at that Blitz Game because _you_ told me he wouldn't wake up! Not only did _you_ lie, and that's not a good thing to do when I _**hate**_ you in the first place and would rather let _Olette_ date _Hayner_ than trust _you_, _and_ because you _**lied**_ we were unprepared and **NOW** Hayner might know!" Sora exploded.

Olette softly smacked her forehead and shook her head. _'Way to go, Sora. Way. To. Go.'_ She saw Hayner look at her with a confused look, and she just sighed and whispered, "I'll explain it to you later, okay?" However, Penelo looked really, really, REALLY confused.

"I...was deceived." Larsa said, "I thought he was half-asleep, but that was only a lie so we would be unprepared."

"Uh-huh." Sora placed his hands on his hips, "Likely story."

Demyx thought he should put a say into this to help his sophmore friend out(yes, Larsa is a Sophmore although he's President of the whole school), "You really should trust Larsa."

"Why should I?" Sora snapped, and suddenly it was not Sora's voice. It was Roxas'. Of course, everyone could tell(even Penelo was wondering why Sora's voice had suddenly gotten a lot more...tempered even though he was mad) because their voices are completely different, "You killed her! I am _**never**_ _**ever**_ going to forgive you for that!"

"If it will make you happier," Larsa started, "your guardian angel, Random...do you remember her?"

"I remember her well." Sora, err, Roxas(though still taking the appearance of the brunette), said, crossing his arms, "What about her?"

"She...she cursed Vayne." Larsa said, "Now, every Solidor is cursed. By the time we reach sixteen, we die."

"Then how..." Reno started, blinking, "Are you here? I doubt all girls would want to get i--"

"RENO!" Larxene shouted, slapping him, "Stop being perverted!"

"Only the males are cursed." Larsa explained, "My mother...she...committed suicide when I was three. I heard from my servants that she really loved me dearly...and she knew what was going to happen to me. Of course, the thing every parent dreads is having to bury their own child. So she just..." He shrugged lightly, but you could tell by his expression that he was deeply pained, and then continued, "And then my father...who married into the family, despised me. He knew of the curse, knew I was the reason for her death. And from then on it had been twelve years of torture. The servants that used to serve House Solidor are gone. He sent them away so they couldn't protect me. I'm going to die next year and I have not even got anything out of my life."

"I'm..." It was Sora's voice again, "sorry."

Larsa shook his head, "This is what you wanted, isn't it? For every descendant of Vayne to die a cruel death, just like her?"

"But..." Sora shook his head, his strong sense of justice shining through, "That's not right. You shouldn't be penalized for something you didn't do. I don't like you, but that still doesn't make it right."

Just on time, the bell rang(it has an uncanny knack of doing that at the _worst _possible times), and kids literally broke the doors down and stampeded out of the auditorium like a pack of angry bulls. Olette had to grab onto some of the sculptured heads so they did not fall and crash into the ground. Once the kids cleared out of the hallways(somehow the Council and Sora had disappeared right along with them), Olette stood up and gasped.

"Oh no! We're going to be late!" She panicked, and then pointed back at the auditorium, "And my books are in there! Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh I'm CUTTING!"

"Relax, Olette." Hayner said calmly, as if this was a daily thing for him(which it was), "Cutting is not that bad."

"You know, it's only if you cut three times you get a detention." Penelo said, "This is only my second time cutting, so I should be okay..."

"Second time? When was your first?" Olette asked, shocked. Had Hayner somehow spread his delinquency to everyone? Is that why she was cutting class right now? Is that why she even snuck out of the auditorium in the first place? Oh, woe is her! Class-cutters were never successful! (In her mind, at the very least)

"I forgot my project at home for Science and my teacher already gave us a week's extension, so he said ten points off everyday we didn't have it! So I hid in the bathroom the whole period." Penelo explained.

"You didn't!" Olette gasped. Penelo nodded, looking a little embarrassed.

"Come on guys, let's go." Hayner said, standing up.

"Wait! We can't go out in the hallways without hall passes! Hayner, they'll catch us and put us in detention for sure!" Olette said, taking his arm and dragging him down just as a security guard passed by.

"Oh, don't be a worrywart. Come on, I wander the halls all the time. They don't even **check** if you hall passes if you look like you're not guilty of something." Hayner said casually. Olette bit her lip. It _was_ true. No one really cared about hall passes and what not anymore. Heck, you could walk out of school if you wanted to, and no one'd stop you.(her brother was proof of that)

"If we get caught, I'm not being blamed!" She said, standing up.

"Alright, Olette!" Penelo cheered quite loudly, and as if on cue, Hayner and Olette both 'shh'ed her.

"We have to be quiet. And if you see anything out of place...Tell me. It might be what I'm looking for." He said, now quite alert and scanning everything in sight.

"What does it look like?" Penelo asked, "Is it big, small, blue, pink...you have to give us a description!"

"Well," Hayner shrugged, "It all depends on perception. But _**believe me**_ if you see it, you will know that it's not meant to be wherever it is."

"What do you mean, 'depends on perception'?" Olette questioned.

He shrugged again, "It depends on perception. C'mon, 'Letty, you're smart. Figure out what that means."

Olette sent a confused glance to Penelo, who then shrugged and asked, "What _**is**_ it? Some kind of transforming egg or something?"

"I'll give you a hint: Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder." He said, and as if on cue both Penelo and Olette hit him in the shoulder.

"Hayner!" Olette exclaimed softly(if there is such a thing), "Hints are no fun!"

"Yeah!" Penelo agreed, "I'm no good at riddles!"

"Is it alive?" Olette asked, intent on figuring out what Hayner could be missing.

"In a sense." He said, shrugging for the umpteenth time that day. Then, he sighed, "Look, girlies, I appreciate you trying to pry into my life and all(this made Olette and Penelo feel guilty), but it's just something personal. It's really important to me and--"

"What if somebody stole it?" Penelo asked, "I mean...if it's out-of-place looking, then somebody might think it's rare or costs a lot or something."

"If someone stole it, I will **kill** them and burn their **living flesh off of their bones."** He said, in a very serious tone. Both girls stopped. He had to be kidding, right? Right? Hayner noticed that the two weren't following him, so he turned around and said, "What? It's not like I'll actually do that."

Suddenly a teacher passing by looked at all three of them suspiciously, and said, "Hall passes, you three?"

-

The day had passed. Sora was more happy than normal because he and Kairi actually _**flirted**_(and yes, Roxas DID give him girl advice. Give it up to the blonde). Olette had an interesting day because of the whole 'Let's-just-wander-around-school-looking-for-something-which-we-don't-know-what-it-looks-like-until-we-get-caught' and when the trio DID get caught, Hayner whipped out a Hall Pass from his pocket. It was completely legit. Teacher's signature, date, names, everything. How Hayner pulled that off...only he knows.

So now, Olette and Sora were all tucked in their beds, with sugar plum fairies dancing in their heads...(Hey, wait a minute! This isn't 'Twas the Night Before Christmas) Okay. So maybe _not_ sugar plum fairies. More like...

-_Sora's Dream Sequence-_

"_Woah...where am I?" Dream Sora(which is actually the conscious of Sora, so in all technicality, it WAS Sora) said. He was standing among the desert. There was nothing but barren land, sweltering heat, and a couple of cactuses here and there. "A desert? Of all places, why the desert?" Dream Sora then shrugged, and continued on walking._

_It soon became unbearably hot. Dream Sora felt like he was going to pass out if he stayed in this desert any longer. As soon as he was about to give up hope, Dream Sora saw a shining light, far off in the distance. "What..." He held his hand up to his eyes, "...is that light?" Seeing the light, Dream Sora was filled with determination and newfound strength. "It must be a reprieve...from this desert..." Dream Sora walked on._

_On and on and on he walked, tirelessly trudging through the sands and kicking tumbleweeds out of his way when they came in his path. Dream Sora had an overwhelming urge to just soak himself in that bright light, and he didn't know why. He wasn't an angel or anything, and sunbathing was Roxas' thing. Finally, after Dream Sora really thought the light might be playing with him OR he was just illusioning things, the light finally got closer! Dream Sora stopped as the light moved closer and closer to him._

_As the light moved closer and closer to him, Dream Sora could see that the light was actually a person who gave off a brilliant luminescent glow. Only one person he could think of represented the light and could shine like that, "Roxas! What are YOU doing in the desert? And, more importantly, in my DREAMS?"_

_As the figure came closer, Dream Sora knew that the figure _had_ to be Roxas. The figure was robed in a cloak that Roxas usually wore, but it was white instead of black. And it had six wings. And to top it all off, the guy was glowing. It had to be Roxas._ _Why Sora would dream about his alter ego, who knows? Anyway..._

_A moment of silence passed between the white-robed Roxas(or so Dream Sora thought) and the Dream Sora. "Hey, Rox, you okay?" He said, and then noticed that Roxas was about a foot or so taller in his dream, "Hey! When'd you suddenly grow a foot? No fair!"_

_Finally, the robed man spoke, revealing his face, "_**I'm you.**_"_

"_Woah!" Dream Sora jumped back. It WAS him, just a few years older. "Dude, where'd you get the wings...and...why are you all...angelic-y?"_

"_Inside you, a light will turn on." Older Dream Sora said, pointing at Dream Sora's heart. Dream Sora placed his hand over his heart._

"_My heart?" Dream Sora asked, confused, "Wait, what? There's a light in my heart that's not turned on?" Sora was not good at riddles, so, obviously, Dream Sora was not good at them either._

_Older Dream Sora sighed and placed his hand on Dream Sora's forehead--_

-_End Sora's Dream Sequence-_

Sora jolted awake, breathing heavily. "What the heck...?" He mumbled, scratching his head. "What a freaky dream..." He said, and then a voice, out of nowhere(much like when he was protecting Kairi), spoke...

_O Latent Strength, now sealed, return to him in the form of Holy Light!_

"Sora!" Olette yelled, and Sora blinked, looking at his sister. He hadn't noticed she was there, "We're late for school! Let's GO!"

He jolted out of bed, grabbed some clothes and ran in the bathroom, "Wait a minute, Olette!" He shouted. Olette sighed and shook her head, sitting on his bed and placing her backpack down. She took out the book she had seen in the Usual Spot the other day, and rubbed it's cover. She planned on showing it to Hayner today, in case it was his. It would make sense. It was in a different language, and he was looking for something. It hadn't occurred to her that it could be this until after school was done.

"Alright, alright, do I look good?" Sora asked, coming out of the bathroom.

Olette laughed, "You have your shirt on backwards." She pointed out, and he sighed, going back in the bathroom, and coming out with his shirt on the right way. "Let's go!" She nodded and placed the book back in her backpack.

On their way out, Roxas couldn't help but wonder why Sora had that weird dream.(**'Ah-HA! So YOU DO have the same dreams as me! I KNEW it!')** Roxas had a feeling it was his future self jumping back in time to tell him something. Sora just ignored the old angel(who was probably right), because they had to get to homeroom, and quickly, too!

The twins grabbed a piece of toast their mother was holding out to them on their way out, and she shouted, 'Have a good day at school, kids!' to which they then muffled a reply.

"I can't believe we're late!" Olette panicked, "They'll mark me late for homeroom, and I've already made up the time that I missed because of the whole angel blood incident!!"

"See, Olette!" Sora said, finishing his toast in record time, "That Hayner is a bad influence for you!"

"The alarm was off!" Olette said, as they both made it to school(surprisingly, the snow and ice had been cleared away) ten minutes late. They wasted no time in going to homeroom.

"Late again, Almas--"Seymour looked up, and was shocked to find out it was the twins, "Sora? Olette? **LATE?** My, my, my. First time in three years. It must be big. I will excuse it this time."

"Lucky..." Murmured the rest of the class. Everyone knew that _**all**_ of the teachers loved them. Sora was just a lovable kid, no one could hate him, and as for Olette, she was so studious and conscientious that the teachers just loved her amidst all the failing kids who couldn't give a crap about school.

They both sat down and Olette took a deep breath, "I haven't ran that fast since...ever!" She exclaimed, placing a hand over her heart.

"Well...I haven't ran that fast since that kid from Atlantica was about to beat me in track." Sora said, shaking his head as he remembered. Those kids were practically mermaids, their towns were laced with canals and everything. They were known for their swimming, and not their running. Sora would never have lived it down if he let that Atlantican kid beat him.

Before they could even socialize with their friends, the bell rang. Sighing, they looked at each other and waved as they went their separate ways.

-

"Hey, 'Letty!"

Olette, now seated at her lunch table(ah, the day had gone within a blink of an eye!) Turned around to see Hayner. She smiled and moved over as he took a seat beside her. "You're skipping math again?"

"Yeah." He said, and then gave a look at Riku, "And I'm **not** going back to class this time."

"But if I--"Riku started, but Hayner shook his head.

"I lost it." He replied offhandedly, like it was no big deal.(It was a big deal, Olette knew it was by his actions yesterday)

"You LOST it?" Riku asked, "How can you lose something like that?"

"I don't know! Someone stole it!" He replied.

"That's even better!" Riku exclaimed, sarcasm dripping off of every syllable, "What if someone uses it to their advantage?"

"They can't." Hayner said matter-of-factly, "Unless, well, you know..." He trailed off and shrugged.

Olette thought this was the perfect opportunity to show him the book. "Hayner," She started, digging into her backpack and fishing out the book, "Is this it?" She asked.

"That's it!" Hayner exclaimed, snatching it from her. "Olette, where did you find this?"

"It was just lying on a bench somewhere. I'm sorry, I didn't know it was yours." Olette said.

"Oh no, that's alright, Olette." He said, opening it and flipping through some pages.

"_**I**_ need to take _**that**_ back." Riku said, and when he spoke, his voice sounded different. Hayner's head shot up to look at him, and Olette looked at Sora's best friend. Riku looked the same, except his eyes were a clear and vivid blue, and not an aquamarine shade. She pursed her lips, thinking, _'Seifer can take control of him, too...'_

"No, I'm keeping it." Hayner replied bitterly, and then glanced at Olette and threw the book at her, which she caught with a surprised cry, "Olette, you take care of that for me. Give it back to me after school, okay? And no matter what...before you give it back to me, _**don't**_ let **him** have it. See ya later!" With that, he practically sprinted out of the cafeteria.

Riku blinked again, and this time, his eyes were back to the aquamarine shade of blue, "I'm sorry, Olette. You know it's..."

"Seifer. Yes, I know." Olette said, and then decided to ask, "How do _they_ know each other?"

Riku scratched his head and then shook it, "I'm not at liberty to say. It's a long story, anyway."

"But they _do_ know each other?" Olette asked, and Riku nodded. "I see...so that means..."

-∞-

"Olette, come on!" Sora said, looking back at his sister, who had not budged from her position outside of the school. "Mother will be getting wo-rried!"

"I know, I need to give Hayner something! It's really important. Sora, you can go on without me if you want." Olette said, smiling. However, Sora did not share his twin's expression.

"No way, José! I am staying with _you_ so that Hayner doesn't try to pull any fast ones!" Sora said, "I'll give him the good ol' one-two and then pop him in the schnozz a couple of times if he tries to pull any moves on _my_ sister!" He pretended he was a kickboxer for just a moment and punched an imaginary punching bag in front of him.

"In the schnozz?" Olette asked, laughing. "Sora, you're so funny sometimes."

It was silent between them as they sat on the railing of the school, watching the kids zoom right past them. A couple of people passed by that they knew; they waved and held a conversation for less than a minute before the kids bid adieu. As the crowd of kids slowly thinned, Sora spotted his ever-_so-_beloved walking out of the school with her head down, so she wouldn't have noticed him.

"Hey Kairi!" Sora jumped off of the railing to greet her. _'Aw,'_ Olette thought, and she couldn't help but smile, _'Look at the lovebirds! Maybe I should get a little closer so I can lis--oh no! What am I thinking?!? I can't eavesdrop_ _on them! Sora was right...Hayner's delinquency IS rubbing off on me...'_

"Oh hey, Sora!" Kairi turned towards him and gave one of her award-winning, dazzling smiles, "What's up?"

Sora shrugged, tempted to say, 'Just another day of watching out for demons that might terrorize the school with my handy sidekick(_'Hey! I am NOT the sidekick!')_ who's my angelic alter ego' but decided against it for obvious reasons. Instead he said, "Nothing much. What about you?"

"Well," Kairi then flipped her silky-smooth auburn hair over her shoulder(quite flamboyantly, I might add) and said, "I was _just _wondering..._if_..." She trailed off, biting her lip.

"If..." Sora waved his hands signaling for her to continue. **'Roxas, are you hearing this? SHE MIGHT ASK ME OUT!!!'**

'_You know,'_ Roxas said dully, _'If you don't want to seem like a coward you should ask HER out.'_

'**I-I can't do that!'** Sora spluttered, **'I can't! It's just...I just...can't!'**

'_Yeah, well...'_ Roxas said evilly, _'__**I**__ can.'_

Before Kairi could continue, Roxas took over Sora's voice(before the brunette could start complaining) and said, "Well, Kairi, _I_ was just wondering if you'd like to go out with me--"

"I'd **love** to!" Kairi gave him a quick hug, "How about Saturday, five o' clock?"

"Actually..." Roxas(**'HEY! This is my girl!')** thought for a moment, "Saturday I'm busy. I'm singing--"

"You sing?" Kairi interrupted, "Oh wow, I'd love to hear you!"

"I-I meant," Roxas coughed, "my best friend is singing at an orphanage. It's not really romantic, but you can join us if you'd like." He finished, and she nodded.

"Oh I'd love to! Okay, I'll see you then!" With that, Kairi happily bounded away. Sora took control over his vocal chords again angrily, stomping back to Olette.

She frowned. He didn't look too happy. _'Oh no, did she tell him I told her he likes her? Oh no...'_ She thought, but then smiled and said cheerfully, "How'd it go?"

"TERRIBLE!" Sora shouted, jumping back on the railing, "Roxas the_ smooth talker--_"

'_Hey, what can I say? I'm irresistibly adorable! Ladies love blondes, and that's a fact of life. You just have to get over it.'_ Roxas said, but Sora just rolled his eyes in response.

"Anyway, _he_ asked _her_ out for me!" He said, crossing his arms and looking at her, "Can you believe it? I can't!"

"You should be thanking him." Olette said, tilting her head slightly, "If I know my brother, it's that he's too nervous to ask _a_ girl out. You should be thankful that he provided a major step in your relationship! Which I'm sure will be wonderful."

"Speaking of relationships, where _is_ Hayner?" Sora said, crossing his arms and tapping his foot, "The whole school has practically emptied out by now!"

"Sora, don't be impatient. Hayner's probably in detention. What room is that in, again?" She asked, going back inside the school. Sora sighed, rolled his eyes and followed his younger sister.

"Um. It's room fourteen, I believe." Sora said, and then Olette gave him a suspicious look.

"How would you know?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well...remember that one time I said that practice ended early?" Sora asked. Olette didn't remember(since that happened quite a lot), but she nodded her head anyway to hear the story, "I was _kinda_ in detention."

"Sora!" Olette slapped his shoulder, "And you call Hayner a delinquent!"

"He's probably in there for doing stupid things while **under the influence!** What I did was that I got mad because I failed my physical exams and in the locker room I transformed into Roxas but no one noticed because no one looks at each other in the locker room and ANYWAY, to make a long story short("Too late," Olette mumbled) I, as Roxas,("It works in reverse, too?") blew a hole in the locker room wall." He explained.

"Ohhh, so _THAT'S_ why we had those boring pep talks in place of gym for two weeks. You in Roxas' form..." Olette shuddered, "I wouldn't like to be around if _that_ ever happens again."

"It's all weird being an angel. You have all this power at your fingertips and I don't even know how to use it! It was really odd when I took over his body...the explosion just...BOOM!" Sora shrugged, "I dunno. It was just _weird."_

'_Well of course it'd be weird,'_ Roxas huffed, _'You're human. As for 'all this power', you talk like I'm High and Almighty. Well, I kind of am--'_

"Way to be humble," Sora mumbled, rubbing his head.

'_Oh, nevermind! I see my opinions aren't APPRECIATED around_ _here!'_ He said overdramatically, then fell silent.

"Wow, when did Roxas become such a drama king?" Olette asked.

"Yeah verily." Sora replied, but he didn't really know what 'verily' meant. It just sounded right in the situation.

"Ah, here it is." Olette said, standing between rooms twelve and fourteen.

"I've never noticed that there's no thirteenth room. Come to think of it, there's no sixty-seven or seventy-six, either." Sora said. Olette gave him a sad look, and he shrugged, "Yeah, yeah. I heard what Gippal said..."

"Let's not think about it." She frowned, opening the door to the room in which Sora thought was where they kept the delinquents.

"_Woah."_

* * *

Actually, I have the next two chapters already written and yeah. :P Right now, I'm working on another story(KH, of COURSE) I'm going to publish after I finish this story and submit the one-shot I told you guys about a couple of chapters about. Personally, I think it has a _really_ good storyline(and not confusing either! YAAAAY) and it is _really_ huge, including mostly _all_ of the Final Fantasies _and_ some Disney characters thrown into the mix! So yeah, as you can see, I'm super-excited.

Because self-advertising has _never_ felt so good, I will proceed in telling you about it in hopes that you may read it one day, even though you could probably not _even_ care. It's Medieval Fantasy, and all I will tell you is that is about two continents that have been at each other's throats for a little over a century, two brothers who are forced to become knights to follow in their prestigious family's footsteps, a young Queen, a maid, and someone from a tribe that has been brutally destroyed. Of course, that's just everyone's _roles_(I'm sure you can figure out who everyone is if you can think hard enough :O And that's not _even_ all of the characters!). The personality clashes and how everyone _meets_ is the _real_ excitement! And of course, throw in Final Fantasy characters, a drizzle of Disney characters, and a huge helping of _major conflict_ and there you go! My story. :D

Well, anyway. I feel better. Don't go scolding me for self-advertising, I _know_ for a fact you _all_ do it too so don't act all innocent:D:D Maybe if it's just a...'oh, BTW I posted up a new one-shot, check it out' that's STILL self-advertising. I just like to elaborate. :D:D

Anyway. I will update soon. I updated today because I checked my inbox and I was like 'Holy fizz, everyone's updating! I should too and share the love!' So yeah. That's the story of my update. Sorry. This isn't the first time I've had an annoyingly long A/N, right? Sorry guys. I'm just a loquacious girl, I can't help it!


	12. Yin Yang: Prelude to War

Disclaimer: ...I don't hear it when you say 'I DON'T OWN ANYTHING'...(I've been listening to Semi-Charmed Life a bit too much...)

Ahem. Remember how I was self-advertising last time? Well. Now I would _just_ like to advertise for the greater good of my fellow authors and authoresses. Ahem. _Firstly,_ I would positively _love _to recommend reading **Pieces of heart: a forgotten memory** by our dearest **lebrezie**. It's a must-read. Betrayals, stricken princesses, unexpected twists, mindreaders...oh yeah, it's got it all.

But that's not all. In my journeys of reading through magnificent and detailed fanfictions from all fandoms, I found that **kinmoku2** is a particularly wonderful writer with a gift for details. Seriously, whether you love her or hate her, you must read her stories. You will definitely agree with me that kinmoku2 has a gift and you'll be hooked.

And, lastly, I'd like to recommend **Free Fate** by our very random Random. :D Which I think she hasn't updated in a long time, but it's a good story nonetheless! 'Cause _nothing_ beats having someone's fate at your fingertips. It's kind of like one of those dating games...except, eloquently worded and a thousand times better. :D

Of course, there are _so_ many more stories I love(like that one super-awesome story by Ellie whose title escapes me) and would _love_ to recommend, but I simply fear that my A/N will drag on! Erm, yeah. Sorry for formalities. When advertising I must simply be persuasive! -dramatic faint- So, yeah. Check 'em out. If _you_ guys want to recommend any stories to me, feel free. If the story sounds interesting, I'd love to check them out. Though I've promised to check out a _lot_ of stories and haven't...-sweatdrop- I better catch up on that...

Angels in Flight: Eien no Tobira

Chapter 47: **Y**in Yang: The Prelude to War

There was a whole war going on inside the room. Everyone who was anyone was there, including the Council, Larsa, Gippal, Marlene, Seifer, his entourage, and even Hayner! When the door opened, the fighting stopped. Everyone dropped their weapons, and looked at who opened the door.

"OLETTE!" Everyone shouted, immediately rushing through the door to get to her. The poor girl was tackled to the ground by the masses before she knew it.

"Um, yes?" She asked sweetly, as everyone backed off slightly so she could stand.

"You have it, right?" Gippal asked, "We need it."

"_He_ doesn't need it, Olette." Hayner said, pointing to himself, "It's mine, so _I_ get it."

"It might be yours," Seifer added, "But it will soon be _mine._ Besides, something so valuable that you _lost_ doesn't deserve to be in your possession anyway."

"It?" Olette asked, placing her backpack down and fishing out the book and holding it close, "You mean this?"

Everyone moved closer, "YES! GIVE IT TO ME!" they all shouted at once. Which was quite a noise, as you can probably imagine. Roxas(he transformed amidst the mayhem; everyone knew his secret anyway) stepped next to Olette and crossed his arms, a confused look on his face.

"Why should she give it to any of you?" Roxas then asked, wanting to hear their reasons BEFORE asking why they wanted it. The reasons consisted of everything he could possibly imagine, from finding a long-lost culture that invented music(of course, this reason was Demyx's), to the key to world peace(Larsa), to 'Well, I'm the best so I deserve it'(Seifer), to 'there are 101 methods to kill Reno/Axel in there'(Larxene), to 'Because it originally belonged to me'(Hayner), to 'Because Daddy would be proud of me!'(Marlene), to 'Well, Father wants it and you can't go against the Demon King'(Gippal), and to ' Because I'm pretty hot. Not to sound conceited or anything, but it would be a shame to lie'(Axel).

"Now that we got _that_ out of the way," Olette said, wondering whose cause was most noble, "What _is_ it?" She asked, looking at the book. Roxas cast a glance at it for the first time.

"It doesn't look to interesting. It's just a regular, cardboard box taped shut that is awfully suspicious." He said, placing his hands on his hips, "What's so important about a cardboard box?"

'**I don't see a cardboard box! I see CRACK! And heroine! And...and...drugs! Speaking of them, dude, what are you **_**on?'**_ Sora asked.

"Huh?" Olette looked at Roxas, "You don't see a book?" He shook his head. She then remembered the conversation with Hayner and her eyes widened, "Oh! So that's why you wouldn't tell Penelo and me what it looked like! But why does it look different to all three of us?"

Everyone started talking at once, and then Hayner stepped out of the crowd and turned to everyone. "Everyone, _please._ I think _I _should be the one explaining this to 'Letty. Any objections?" The group(surprisingly) was quiet. "Well, that object...it's a fundamental thing if you want to live."

"Oh really?" Olette held the book/cardboard box/drugs out and examined it, "It doesn't look like anything special. But it must be." She held it close to her again, because she didn't like the hungry looks in everyone's eye.

"What it is, is..." Hayner hesitated, scratching his head, "Okay, don't jump to conclusions, as I'll explain everything after. It's...my soul." Saucer-wide eyes and a gasp. Okay, Hayner was expecting a lot worse than that, "A soul is an object, so it needs to take the appearance of something. So it takes on the appearance of whatever you think of me as. Sora thinks of me as a crackhead so he sees drugs. Roxas sees me as a suspicious guy but doesn't really know what's going on with me yet so he sees a suspicious taped-shut cardboard box. And 'Letty sees me as what most people see me as: A magician. Well, I sorta am one but _anyway_, she sees a spellbook."

"Wait a minute!" Roxas crossed his arm, looking from his soul back to him, "A soul is needed in order to sustain life. How are you here, how did that thing pop out of you _and_ what exactly _are _you?"

"This...may take awhile." He took a deep breath, "I'll begin way, way back when I _was_ actually around sixteen, which is 1479 P.W."

"P.W.?" Larxene asked.

"Pre-War." Zexion explained, "As in, before the War of the Lost. And A.W. is After War. So, he was born 1,479 years before the war happened. Way before Roxas' time."

"Why is everyone always so _**old?**_" Olette asked, sighing. She kind of felt left out; being a thousand years old must be _pretty_ cool.

"Anyway," Hayner continued, "I was Prince of a Kingdom who lived and _breathed_ magic. The royal family, of course, which consisted of me, my six sisters, and my parents, all possessed superior magic to the inhabitants of our land. But especially my father and I. We had magic that surpassed my sisters and my mother. My father, he was so proud of me. My mother; she didn't like me too much. She thought so much power for someone would eventually lead to someone corrupt and unjust, which was unbecoming of a future King. She poisoned my drink one day and I fell into a coma. I don't remember anything after that, except when I woke up everything was in Ruins."

He took a deep breath, paused, whether it was for dramatic effect or if it was painful to recall(it was definitely the latter), and continued, "The first thing I did was, of course, look around. My father was standing in the middle of it all. He turned around and he said to me, 'I killed everyone. I destroyed everything.' He said it in such a chilling way that.." He shuddered, "I still remember how it felt hearing those words for the first time. Absolutely devastating. Anyway...so we had an argument...blah blah blah, a couple of moments later, he told me that he had used up all of his magic on the destruction of the Kingdom and everyone in it. Ten thousand people's lives. Lost in an instant." He snapped his fingers.

'**That SUCKS**.' Sora said, but no one heard him because they were too concentrated on the story.

"It was at that point that I knew he had gone insane. It was also clear to me why he had kept me alive. So he could use me to recharge his magic. The Devil appeared before us right then, and made a deal with my power-hungry father. He said that he would give him back his powers, but for something as valuable."

"You don't mean..." Olette gasped as Hayner nodded.

"Yeah. He told the Devil he could have my soul. Of course, my soul is the very _essence_ of magic so the Devil agreed, but he was disgusted that my father would just kill me that easily. So, he banished my father to the deep bowels of Hell. Lucifer isn't a pushover either so he wasn't going to hand my soul back over to me because he felt sorry for me. He made a deal with me. If I served under him for five thousand years, I would get my soul back. I agreed, and here we are." He explained.

"But then how'd you get it back? Olette found it, so that means you lost it." Roxas said, still not satisfied. It would explain a lot of things, like their mistrust for him. After all, a soulless magician was not likely to bring images of flowers and rainbows to mind.

"And why are you so friendly with Seifer?" She asked, and then added, "What exactly _are_ you anyway?"

"Well, obviously the Devil wants me to perform some magic to destroy a world or a person or whatever. Of course, I need to have my soul back in order to perform magic, so he lets me have it. I just happened to leave it where Olette found it. The reason why I'm friendly with Seifer is that, well...it's not by choice. I know him, from 2000 years ago. It's not like Lucifer kept me in a cage. I'm free to do what I will but if he wants something of me, it comes first. We were acquaintances. Actually, I attended their 'wedding'..." Hayner trailed off, adding, "That was a very powerful song you sang, Roxas. Kudos to you."

"What about me?" Axel cried, "I played the piano! I _started_ it; it was _my _idea!"

"What? It was _your_ idea?!?"The unusually composed Seifer yelled, huffing and turning back towards everyone else, crossing his arms. "I'll get _you_ later. Mark my words!"

"Mark my words? Ha! I've got it memorized! Got _it_ memorized?" Axel shouted back. They glared daggers at each other again, lightning seeming to pass through their gaze. That's how electrifying the atmosphere was. The tension was so thick that you could cut it with a knife.

"Anyway, as for what I am. Well, Olette, you're close. I'm _going_ to be a Warlock when I get older, but that's when I get older. You see, a magician, as they call us, are magic-using people who go through 'stages' based on how powerful their magic is. The process goes like this: magician, wizard, sorcerer, warlock, then a djinni. Essentially, you can only reach a certain stage when you get older _and_ if you possess that much magic. Take me, for instance. When I turn eighteen I'll become a Warlock. If I had immense magical powers than at twenty I'd become a djinni. But I don't. So, basically, when you're born, you're born with a 'magic license'. It gets 'unlocked' as you get older which opens up your magical talents more. That's all there is to it." He explained.

"Wha...?" Everyone was positively confused, except Larsa and Zexion, who were possibly the only ones there that had some shred of intelligence.

"If you have magic it'll progress in power as you get older." Zexion summed it down for all of them, which cleared up quite a lot of confusion. Unfortunately, Demyx and Sora were still confused, but nothing could be done for them.

"You're really a good guy!" Olette exclaimed, and Hayner smiled.

"I suppose I am. I'm not allied with Seifer by wanting to be." He said.

"So, now that we've got that cleared up..." Larsa cleared his throat and held out his hand, "The book, please?"

"No! It's Hayner's soul! You can't take it away from him!" Olette said, shaking her head and holding it out to Hayner. However, before he took it, Seifer snatched it from her!

Roxas tackled Seifer to the ground and tried to wrestle it out of his hands, but before he could do so successfully, Seifer's loyal entourage(Fuu and Rai, of course) grabbed him and held him so tightly Roxas couldn't move. Seifer then stood up and brushed his clothing as if he had gotten dirt on them. "Nobody move or else I blast this place into oblivion." He said menacingly, and everyone froze as Seifer opened up the book.

"Now," He said, turning towards Roxas(who Rai and Fuu were still holding back), "For my first trick, I think I'll cause a little..." He cleared his throat, "Mayhem." He looked through the book, and stopped on a page, reading it.

"Oh, that reminds me," Olette said, wanting to delay any magical mayhem Seifer was going to cause, "That language you were speaking...what was it?"

"It's the language of Hell." Gippal explained, "Originally Tsugare had it as a double language, but after it got destroyed, we used it as our own because no one understood it anymore."

"I see..you were lying to me, Hayner." Olette said, and frowned.

"I'm sorry. I didn't want to, but--"

"AHEM!" Both Seifer and Roxas cleared their throats rather loudly. Seifer because he was wanted to obliterate Roxas into tiny little bits, and Roxas because well..although all suspicion had been cleared, Hayner still was under Lucifer's control.

"Oh, right. Carry on." Hayner said, nodding.

"As I was saying..." Seifer cleared his throat for a dramatic voice, "I am going to unleash MAYHEM upon you!" He said a couple of ancient words from the book(now that everyone truly knew what Hayner was, all they saw was the book) and everything flashed a bright white.

When the light died down, everyone was eager to see what Seifer had done to Roxas. Did he have six heads? Or five feet? Or maybe his skin was green, or his eyes a sickly yellow? As cruel as it was, some of them(-coughcoughLarxenecoughcough-) wished that something like that really _did_ happen to Roxas.

What had happened was this: Roxas and Sora had gotten separated. Not a big deal, you may say. But then Roxas got split up into three(one of them ran off, no one bothered to take chase) and Sora split into two(the other one ran off as well). But what shocked them as well was that Sora...well...

"Oh my! This is absolutely, completely, positively WONDERFUL!" One of the Roxases shouted, clapping his hands in glee, "There is another six-winged angel out there! Oh I'm not alone! I am so glad!" He started to sing, but everyone quickly shut the angel up.

"Oh woopee," Said the other Roxas, his tone completely monotone and his face deadpan, "Another six-winged angel. Go us."

Indeed, what the monotone Roxas and the happy-happy-joy-joy Roxas was true. Sora had six wings on his back, each of them different from what Roxas(er, whichever Roxas had them) had. "I..." Sora started, looking at himself, "Don't feel any different. Er, but I'm sure you do...Roxas..es."

"Oh, me? Not me!" Way-too-Jovial Roxas declared, spinning around in a pirouette, "I feel as fine as sunshine! Why, I'm as exuberant as a peach! As a matter of fact, I thank you, Seifer! I have never felt so...so...jolly as I do now!"

Monotone Roxas sent a bored glance at Way-too-Jovial Roxas. That was all he did as Larxene said, "Oh my god, you're _joking._ Seifer, what spell did you use?"

"A separation spell." Hayner said, crossing his arms, "It separates a person into sides of their personality."

"So Sora and Roxas spilt...Sora spilt into two, and Roxas spilt into three..."Olette mused. Suddenly, everyone gasped as Seifer's control began to fade(apparent because his hair started to grow and turn silver).

"Here," Riku said, glancing at Sora and his angel wings, "Have it back." He handed it over to Hayner and then said, "Why don't you just put them back together?"

"Well, uh..." Hayner looked at Sora and the two Roxases, "I need the two who ran away first."

Way-too-Jovial Roxas pumped a triumphant fist, "A merry song shall lift the spirits of everybody as we look! _We sing a hap--"_

"NO. SONGS." Larxene demanded, hissing ferociously. Way-too-Jovial Roxas' eyes grew big and started to fill with tears. Everyone(namely, Axel) sarcastically congratulated Larxene. I wonder how she feels on making an angel cry. She's probably ecstatic in her cruel, sadistic way.

"B-But...music is..." Way-too-Jovial Roxas' lip quivered as he stuttered out, "the key to happiness! D-Don't...songs," He sniffed, brushing away some tears, "j-just fill you w-with happiness?" (At this, Demyx was about to say something, but he was too afraid of Larxene to agree, though he did so mentally)

"The only songs filling me with happiness are the ones about death, killing people, and violence." She sneered, looming over the poor angel like a greyhound to a chihuahua.

"AAHHHH!" Way-too-Jovial Roxas screamed, running behind Axel(now, Reno) "Reno! Larxene is scaring me!"

Instead of scaring poor, poor Way-too-Jovial Roxas more, she turned her malicious glare on the Monotone Roxas. He just looked at her with no emotion written on his face. Absolutely nothing. It was like trying to win a staring contest with a brick. Larxene knew she wasn't going to phase the Monotone Roxas, so she gave up.

"Alright everyone. The Council and I will search from the left of here." Larsa announced, "Reno, you and everyone else shall search the right of the school. We will eventually meet up around the staircases at the rear of the school, in which we can then proceed to the upper floor and search there."

"Right."

-

"I'm afarid..." Xemnas started, "We've found nothing."

They had searched everywhere. Every room, first floor and second, all of the offices, the teacher's lounge, the Student Council, the Student Council's _jacuzzi,_ and still nothing. To the forgotten corners of the basketball hoop in the gym to the cans in the garbage of the cafeteria. There was absolutely no one who resembled Roxas or Sora(besides themselves of course) to be found. They were now standing outside of the school, searching hawk-like through the forests of cement to look for either.

"Neither have we." Sora stated sadly, as Way-too-Jovial Roxas stepped forward with a brilliant smile on his face. For once in everyone's life, they were thinking the same thing Larxene was, _'Why is that kid so damn happy?!?'_

"Do not worry, everybody! With the help of so--"Before Way-too-Jovial Roxas was about to say 'song', everyone shut him up by yelling at him. So, he remained quiet like his monotone counterpart, whom everyone was appreciating at this point.

"It's obvious they have escaped the school. No matter, hopefully we shall find them if we keep our eyes peeled." Larsa said brightly, and everyone looked around nervously.

"Uh..uh...I, uh, gotta go. Wouldn't want to get the President of Shinra mad, now, would we? BYE!" With that, Reno left.

Larxene thought of a way to get herself out of it as well, "And I need to go fight with Reno some more! So, I will see you later and maybe if things turn out well he'll have a big black eye!"

The excuses varied from, 'I need to spend quality time with my sitar'(Demyx), 'Father wouldn't want me keeping Marlene out late'(Gippal and Marlene), 'I have obligations with my girlfriend'(Xemnas...whoa. Both Roxases were at a loss of words when they heard this, as well as the rest of the council who had not departed), 'I need to go out and spend all of my money gambling'(Luxord) and 'I am too intelligent to get involved with trivial matters such as these'(Zexion).

By the time Sora, Olette, and the two Roxases heard all of the excuses, only two remained that would help them look. Larsa and Hayner. Hayner shrugged, "I'm only here because it'll keep me out of trouble."

"I am here in hopes of getting you to trust me, Sora." Larsa said, excluding the Roxases because he knew that now they were only sides of the real Roxas' personality, he would not have an effect on the person when they all joined up again.

"Larsa...I'm really, really sorry." Sora said, shaking his head. "It's just...not right!" Though he did not like Larsa, his strong sense of justice kept nagging him about it. Besides, the only reason why he didn't like him was because of Vayne. He was probably a really nice kid beneath his ancestry.

"Don't worry about me." Larsa said, his face unemotional as if he were trying not to cry or something, "I...have tried not letting anyone get close to me these past few years, because of what is to come. I am already prepared for it."

"But...but!" Sora sighed angrily, then turned to the perky Roxas, "Roxas!"

"Yes?" Way-too-Jovial Roxas answered in a singsong voice.

"Can you call down Random?" He asked, briefly remembering his guadian angel. He had met her once, a long time ago.

Larsa blinked, surprised, "Ah! No, no, please. We need to find your other half..."

"Larsa, just be quiet!" Olette commanded, not believing that she had just given an _order_ to the School _President._ Wow, Hayner's delinquency really **was** getting to her. "Ah, I'm sorry. Really, I worship the very ground you walk on, President..." She said, but Larsa just smiled, a smile that disappeared when Hayner glared at him and stepped closer to Olette.

Way-too-Jovial Roxas thought for a moment, "Why, why yes! I think I can! It might require a song and a dance, though!"

Sora glanced at everyone else. Hayner didn't look like he cared(but that was just him) and Olette and Larsa just shrugged. "Alright, Roxas, go ahead. Do your thing." He said as Roxas jumped up in happiness.

Indeed, perky Roxas began to sing and dance. They all had to keep themselves from laughing out loud(except Monotone Roxas, who held that same deadpan expression) as they watched perky Roxas dance. He may have been an angel, but he was NOT a graceful dancer(at least his voice made up for that fact). In fact it was almost like watching a blind bird pecking around for food. Well, whatever, at least he was enjoying himself. As perky Roxas' song and dance finished, everyone heard a huge FWOOSH noise.

Everyone looked up to see that the clouds were separating to two sides of the sky, and from the clearance in the sky, a light beamed down on them. When the light faded down, Random, looking a teeny bit older than she had last time Roxas had seen her, was there. (Poor, poor, Olette...she was the only one who couldn't see angels since she was just a regular human after all. It was only because of her relation to Sora that she was able to hear Roxas)

"You're his guardian angel?" Sora asked, just to confirm it. He didn't want her to actual be some kind of demented evil angel that perky Roxas had summoned with his horrible neanderthal dancing. He _had_ seen her once before, but he didn't remember what she looked like.

"Unfortunately." Monotone Roxas replied. Everyone looked at him for a moment, as they had completely forgotten he had been there.

Perky Roxas seemed to be offended by this, and clapped his hands together, "Oh, I think it's wonderful that you're my guardian angel, Random! You're so nice and pretty and smart! You're the best ever!" He said, running over to her and hugging her.

"Um..." Random blinked, "I really, _really_ hate to break it you, but I'm not _your_ guardian angel at this moment."

"Wha-What?!?" Perky Roxas let go of her and stumbled backwards, turning around and looking up at the sky, "Oh why!?? Why must the world be so cruel to a poor little angel? Oh, oh, why..."

Hayner looked from the perky Roxas to the monotone one, and then gasped as he realized something. He said, "Oh, I get it. I know how that separation spell worked. It separated Roxas into his three heritages: Machine, angel, human. Naturally it brings along sides of his personality too. His machine side is unemotional and violent, his angel side is WAY too happy, and his human side is probably quiet and sad. The spell separated Sora into two: His light and dark side."

"That makes sense." Olette mused, and he nodded.

"A-Anyway, Random. Remember how you cursed Vayne Solidor years ago?" Sora asked. Random nodded and let herself look around, noticing Larsa.

"I never thought the Solidor line would last that long. So, what do you want me to do? Blow him to pieces? Send him to an alternate universe?" She asked, an almost cruel smile spreading to her face.

"No, I want you to remove the curse." He said.

"Larsa Ferrinas Solidor," She said in a deep, terrifying voice that would almost make even Monotone Roxas afarid(but he wasn't), "I shall send you to your DOOOO--wait, what did you say?" She blinked, looking back at Sora, "Did you just say 'Remove the curse'?"

"Yes." Sora said, nodding. "It's really not fair that Larsa has to pay for what he didn't do. I'm sure his ancestors have repented enough."

"Well, as much as I would love to, which really isn't a whole lot," Random placed her hands on her hips, "I'm powerless unless the _human_ Roxas wishes for it. So, until you find him, I can't remove any curse."

"Then we need to find him!" Sora said, then bowed, "Thank you for your help!"

"Anytime!" Random said, but before she disappeared she said, "Oh, and Roxas, please try to dance better next time when summoning me, alright? You make me look like a fool."

"I'm so sorry! I can't believe I brought shame on you, Random! Oh, woe is me!" Perky Roxas looked behind him and said to Monotone Roxas, "Oh, I'm feeling faint. Catch me..." As perky Roxas overdramatically fainted, Monotone Roxas sidestepped him as he crashed on the floor. This caused laughter from everyone but the Roxases. When perky Roxas stood up again, he said, "Oh, dear counterpart, why must you be so...so...so...I can't even find an adjective for it! Please, let us be friends!" Perky Roxas smiled and held out his hand to the monotone Roxas.

Monotone Roxas looked at the hand of perky Roxas for a moment, before slapping it away and pushing him with such force he hit the ground, "I will **never** become friends with **you."** His voice was full of vicious anger. At least he showed emotion now. The anger quickly subsided as he blankly looked ahead with a deadpan face.

"Oh, oh dear...maybe a song will--ACK!" Perky Roxas started to say, but Monotone Roxas whipped around and grabbed him by the throat, holding him high in the air.

"No. Songs." He said, dropping the gasping for breath Roxas. Everyone was shocked at this display of violence. They were two halves of the same person. Why would they fight like this? What internal conflicts Roxas had to be suffering!

It was quiet for a long while, except for the occasional gasp which was perky Roxas trying to get his breath back. As if on cue, everyone(excluding the Roxases)'s eyes rested on Sora as they looked for an order. Sora laughed nervously and rubbed his head, not knowing why everyone saw a leader in him.

"Why look at me? Larsa is School President! He's a better leader than I am! He should decide what we do." Sora decided smugly, crossing his arms as everyone's eyes shifted over to Larsa.

"Considering their drastically different personalities, I don't think the Roxases should be kept together. One is too hostile to keep in our company, but unprovoked he is fine. The jubilant Roxas is certainly the cause of the other's volatile behavior. I think this matter should be addressed immediately. Since you have given the leadership role to me, Sora, I believe either you or Olette should take either home, and then we can continue our search. Unless you all wish to not search completely and just go home. The choice is up to you." Larsa said, returning Sora's smug smile. Darn that Larsa! Forcing the decision back to him. Though Sora couldn't help but give props to the younger boy for his obvious intelligence and his calm attitude despite the situation at hand.

"Well...I...I don't know. I think we should just go home. As much as I _want_ to meet my dark side, I'm kinda not ready to at this moment. Besides, we're unprepared. What if _either_ of them are armed and dangerous?" Sora asked, crossing his arms once more, and then glancing back at his new set of wings, which disappeared after he came to the thought that someone might see him with them.

"Very well." Larsa nodded his head in a content way, and then turned around, "Then we are dismissed." Hayner bid his goodbye after Larsa left and left as well. That just left Sora, Olette, and the two Roxases.

"Olette, I have an idea. I'll take the moody Roxas one way home, and you can take the happy one the other way. That way we don't have to worry about them killing each other." He said, knowing that Olette had enough patience to withstand perky Roxas' _too-_bubbly personality. She nodded, knowing what her twin was thinking.

"Maybe Tifa can give us some insight on what to do as well. I hope mom and dad don't get mad at us." She said, sighing as she walked away. Sora could hear Roxas' voice say 'Oh no! Getting mad at you? I simply must sing a song for the anger...' and then, they were both out of earshot.

"You'll follow, right?" Sora asked Monotone Roxas, who simply gave him a look that made him feel like an idiot. "I'll take that as a yes."

-

"Oh, my!" Aerith exclaimed, "What happened?!? Oh..." Though they had taken different ways home, the twins(and Roxases) arrived at the home at the same time. When they first entered, they were expecting something dramatic. Beside from Aerith dropping her cup of tea(which she was now cleaning up) and uttering the aforementioned, everyone else looked deadpan. I guess it's contagious. "Are you alright?!? Oh dear, what happened?"

"Do not fret, dear Aerith!" Perky Roxas exclaimed, "For a song shall clear this up...oooo, _I've been working on the railroad, all the live long--"_ Sora and Olette's glances sharpened into glares. Afraid that the monotone Roxas would beat him up if he continued with his song, perky Roxas mumbled a disheartened 'Nevermind'.

"Basically what happened was that Sora and Roxas split by a magical spell, and then it split Roxas into his three 'heritages' and Sora into his light and dark side." Olette explained, "We can get them back together, but we need to find the other two whom had ran off, first."

"I see." Tifa said, looking over at the two Roxases and then at Sora. She gave him a weird look, as if she _knew_, but she didn't say anything.

"Remember," Aerith added, "That one of them have to perform for the concert on Saturday. For the orphans, remember?"

"Concert?!?" Perky Roxas completely flipped out in happiness. "OHMIGOSHOHMIGOSH A CONCERT?!With...with...SINGING and...and...and SINGING? Oh, oh, oh, could I please come? I'll sing and dance--"

"Dance?" Tifa snorted, "Sorry, but my son _never_ danced. And when he did...well..." Olette, Sora and herself had to keep from laughing, "Let's just say it was one of the funnier experiences I've had in my life."

"Yes," Perky Roxas admitted sadly, "Random cruelly criticized my dancing as well. In fact, the feedback was so devastating it broke my little heart! And then when I fainted, no one would catch me." He sniffed again, wiping away invisible tears.

Sora mumbled, "What a drama queen."

What Tifa said was not the proclamation of the angel side of Roxas being an overly dramatic, happy fool(which was true, but she decided not to upset him further) but, "Oh, you've seen Random around lately? Nice girl, that Random. She does things a little over-the-top, though..."

"We've noticed." Sora said, "She cursed the whole Solidor line! I feel sorry for poor Larsa...going to die next year..."

"The whole school will be in an disarray without him as President! I'm sure..." Olette bit her lip for a moment, "I'm sure Penelo would be devastated, too."

Sora blinked, his eyes wide with surprise, "_She_ likes _him?_ Well, now that you think about it...they would make a pretty cute couple. Not cuter than Kairi and me of course."

"Cuter than Hayner and me?" Olette asked tentatively.

"You guys aren't _even_ a couple!" He exploded, "And you never _will_ be, _especially_ since he's a undead, soulless, controlled-by-the-Devil, delinquentizied(which was not a word, but Sora did not seem to know that), crack–"

His list of bad things to call Hayner got interrupted by the jubilant Roxas, "Oh, Sora! Why must you not give everyone a chance? The world is so beautiful and kind, that everyone deserves a helping hand! Right, my little sweeties?" As he said 'sweeties', he extended his arms as if impersonating a windmill, and bluebirds from nowhere flocked to his arms.

"What does giving nature a helping hand have to do with Hayner?!?" Sora shouted, loudly enough to scare the jovial Roxas' 'sweeties' away, "Geez, start making sense!"

"Sora, don't get mad." Aerith said calmly, "He's only trying to help."

As Aerith defended the jovial Roxas, his eyes lit up with joy(as if they weren't joy-lit before), and he ran over and hugged her, "Oh, oh, oh thank you mother Aerith! I knew you would come to my aid! Oh, this is such a glorious day indeed! The sun is shining, the birds are singing, the flowers are blooming, oh, what a better day to be alive than today?"

Sora and Olette sighed simultaneously. What were they going to do with him...?

-

"NOOOO!" Perky Roxas latched himself onto Olette's leg, "NOOOO! DON'T LEAVE ME! PLEASE! I DON'T WANT TO BE ALOOOOONE!"

"You won't be alone, you'll have nice mother Aerith and Tifa with you, too!" Olette said, having difficulty getting out of the door to go to school because of perky Roxas. Monotone Roxas was in her room painting his nails black, so at least he was preoccupied with something.

"But, but... sister Olette! Why must you leave me here?!? I thought we were SIBLINGS! Siblings don't leave each other in the dark! Oh, my day full of sunshine will be full of the dreadful gloom that my counterpart feels if you leave me here alone! Please, sister Olette, take me with YOOOUUUU!" Perky Roxas said, not letting go of her. Olette couldn't seek help from Sora(who was actually on his way to school; not noticing his sister was not beyond him. How observant of he), so she had to think on how to deal with him.

Fortunately, Cloud came to save the day. He picked the perky Roxas up by the collar and dragged him away, out of earshot. Oeltte watched as he received an earful of Cloud's intense lectures that made the poor drama king's eyes overflow with tears. Olette felt bad of leaving the sprightly(but intensely annoying) Roxas behind, but she had to get to school. She couldn't be late _again._ Seymour had already given them one freebie, she doubted he was going to extend such a kind offer again.

With a sigh, Olette closed the door behind her and began on her serene way to school, having the time to appreciate the breathtaking sights of the magnificent twilight-donning town. Normally she would be occupied with chattering with Sora to notice the scenic route she and her brother normally took to school. _'It's a nice change of pace,'_ Olette thought, a subconscious smile gracing her features, _'To be able to take in the sights of Twilight Town. Normally, I'm so busy on getting to school on time to notice anything.'_

Olette wondered why she felt so lazy today. She wondered why she didn't want to get to school in a hurry today. Maybe it was because she was tired of all the excitement from yesterday. It had been a sleep-deprived night because of the constant wants and needs of the overly loquacious Roxas. In fact, had she not begged her mother to take care of him, she would have listened to his preaches about how vividly wonderful the world was all night long. While she was not the one to discourage such optimistic behavior, the angel was just optimistically _annoying._

But at least the gloomy Roxas was alright. He didn't bother anybody, and if anyone talked to him, he would send them a raging glare full of livid animosity. So, everyone decided to just let him do his own thing. In cases where he had to speak, or in the rare occasion he'd put up his opinion, his voice was completely monotone and emotionless aside from the few syllables that held sparks of anger.

As Olette rounded another corner on her epic journey to the school, she concluded her thoughts on the two Roxases. Instead, the brunette girl felt her mind wander to what most girls mostly think of-_-boys._ Of course, this category included the lovable Larsa(though Olette didn't feel any particular attraction towards him, he _was_ an incredibly enchanting boy. She could see why Penelo liked him so much, with his calm demeanor, outstanding leadership abilities, and his dashing good looks) who just screamed 'Prince Charming' to the charming-in-his-own-way delinquent Hayner. As soon as her thoughts reached to him, however, she forced the train of her mind to chug along a different track. A fierce blush appeared on her cheeks, embarrassed that she had even been _thinking_ of him. In fact, she was embarrassed that she was embarrassed while no one was around. It's not like there were any _mind readers_ around--though, with Larsa's ability to see the unseen and Hayner's sudden sorcery skills, Olette wasn't going to hold her hopes up. Who knows? Her best friend could turn out to be some ancient psychic from the year nine-thousand who accidentally teleported back in time. These days, you had to learn that _nothing_ was impossible.

By the time her blush faded, she was safely on her way to homeroom. She looked around to notice that Sora was in his usual lollygagging mood over Kairi, who was being as flamboyant as possible around him, even raising her voice in exaggeration and waving her hands around for extra emphasis. Olette just rolled her eyes. _'A nice girl,'_ She thought, looking around the room some more, _'But she can be a bit of a snobbish airhead. I suppose Sora can tolerate things like that, though...'_

She saw Hayner out of the corner of her eye talking to Pence, and her blush from a few moments ago immediately returned. She turned her head away quickly, making it seem like she was staring at the blank chalkboard. _'Why do I get so embarrassed whenever I think about him?!?'_ She asked herself, angry that she couldn't just think of him as a **friend,** _'Maybe I should talk to Kairi--ah! Maybe not. I wouldn't trust that girl so easily...Hmm, maybe I should talk to Penelo about it. She __**likes**__ Larsa after all, maybe she'd know the feeling.'_

As soon as she was about to call the girl over, the door swung open to reveal--no, not Riku this time, but the School President himself! And wherever the President goes, the Student Council followed like a lovesick puppy. Speaking of the council, all twelve's eyes traveled over to Sora, who excused himself from the _lovely_ conversation he was having with Kairi to join up with them. After all, he was a member.

Xemnas looked at them all, then whispered something to Larsa who nodded to Reno who, in turn, nodded and stepped forward. As all eyes locked on the redhead, he said, "Hey, I know I'm hot, ladies, but I'm not the main attraction here _this _time. Why don't you direct your attention to our _very _own School President while I hand these papers out, hmm? Don't worry, I'll autograph them later for fans..." He then passed out the stack of papers he had in his arms as the girls swooned over him and started shouting many things complimenting Reno's apparent godliness and good looks.

As Olette received her paper, she hurriedly scanned her eyes through it. Her eyes widened at what she saw, and at first, she could not believe it. Actually, Olette had to look it over again to register the credibility of the words staring back at her. She held the paper up to Sora and gave him a look that said, _'Did you __**tell**__ them?'_

Sora blinked, looking at the paper she was holding up. He couldn't really see since her hand was covering the letters, but what Larsa said cleared up what the paper was about, as all eyes turned to the raven-haired President.

"As you all know, there are _hundreds,_ no, _thousands_ of kids being orphaned everyday," He started off. Sora's eyes widened in surprise as he mouthed to his sister, _'The concert!??'_ to which she hurriedly nodded in reply to. How did LARSA find out about the concert? He hadn't told any of them, not even Reno(though, he was getting around to it...eventually...)! Geez, was he some kind of telepath? (For Olette's embarrassment, let's hope not...)

"Now, you may not care about the orphans, but ask yourself this: If you were abandoned by your parents and left in an orphanage with very little entertainment, food and water, wouldn't you want something to brighten up the day?" He asked, continuing on before anyone actually answered the rhetorical question, "We all know that there's a community service requirement in order to graduate high school, is there not?"

Following the question, everyone groaned and moaned and complained. Ugh, the thought of 'community service' flashed everyone's minds with a painful burn that just screamed 'BORING'. Every student had to complete so and so hours(it raised by five every year, starting at fifteen) in order to graduate High School. It was a requirement.

"Well, in all honesty now, how many of you have not even done any community service?" He asked, and as if to persuade the students to be truthful(since none of their hands were up), he raised his own hand. Everyone got to thinking, 'Well, if the President hasn't done it then I'm in the clear...' so everyone who had not done it(which WAS everyone, those lazy slackers) raised their hands.

"Great. As the President, I know it can be a bore," Larsa continued, dropping his hand as everyone else did as well, "But I am offering you all an opportunity. For this year, and maybe the last two years for those of you who have had hours carried over, I will say you have completed all of your community service hours," Everyone gasped in excitement. There was screaming and three cheers for Larsa, in fact, everyone huddle around the President and threw him in the air and caught him in three times while cheering his name. When Seymour told everyone to go back to their seats, they shot glares at him(what a killjoy) and returned back to their seats as painstakingly slow as possible to get on his nerves.

The President, clearing his throat and having a slight tint of pink spread across his cheeks, continued, "I am so sorry to say this, but I will only do that _if_ you attend a Holiday concert this weekend at the Traverse Town Orphanage. It will only be for a couple of hours, and you don't need to bring anything."

"Just a good attitude and a cheerful face!" Xemnas said, his monotone voice making his exclamation sound very awkward. "There will be karaoke and singing and dancing for everyone, so you **better** attend..."

"Well," Reno concluded with a clap of his hands, "That's it for today!"

And with that, the Council left, dragging Sora along with them. Sighing, Olette glanced back down at the paper and then at Riku, who looked oddly pale. "Riku, is something the matter?" She asked, _hoping_ it wasn't something about Seifer and hoping that she just didn't jinx herself.

"Seifer...he..." Riku started, then shook his head.

She sighed and rubbed her temples. She _**hated**_ it when she jinxed herself.

* * *

-OH NOEZ SEIFER IS GOING TO ATTACK EVEYRONE WHATEVER SHALL WE DO?!? Ahem. Remember Sefier's promise to hunt down and kill Axel, it will make sense later. (I suppose) 

So, what did you all think? I thought it was a kind of giveaway with Hayner and whatever. Originally, I had him start out as a powerful demon but then I ditched that idea because I recently saw a commercial for Wife Swap when the wife gets swapped into a family of magicians and I was like, 'FRIGGIN' SWEET!' and I also remembered that time where I watched a magic show on T.V., and then there was that documentary about a short magician whose assitant was his wife, a supermodel-height blonde. And of course, by the suggestions of you readers, too.

Are you guys excited for the concert? I sure am:D:D It's going to start and end with a blast too. ;)

P.S. It was super-fun to write overdramatic Roxas and monotone Roxas. I can't wait until they all find the other two. Dundundun...SORA MEETS HIS DARK SIDE! Hehehe. Oh yeah, that will be fun. :D


	13. The Sky and Sea Dilemma

Disclaimer: Just a dream, just an ordinary dream...WHERE I DON'T OWN ANYTHING! (Yup, this time I've been listening to Ordinary Day...)

P.S. -laugh- The orphanage is a hotspot for the FFXII characters. The ones that are alive(OH NOEZ ASHE AND RASLER WHY DOES THE WORLD HAVE TO BE SO CRUEL?!?), anyway. I may bring Ashe back to life though, because after getting up to the Draklor Laboratories I've discovered I'm a nasty Ashe/Vaan fan.(And a Penelo/Larsa fan. If only I could get over the height difference(and with his lime green(-laugh- I love Larsa's fashion sense)boots and superhero cape(-laugh-) I'm surprised he's not up to par...)) I mean, gosh, Ashe/Basch is like. Fifteen years. OH GREAT! Here I go on my FF rants again...-sigh- Sorry guys. You're probably used to them by now, and since I haven't beaten the game yet, so expect more to come! xD People who haven't played FFXII yet, I recommend you do! Ohhh, Larsa's such a cutie! I wuv him! -hug-

Erm. Yeah.

Angels in Flight: Towa no Shirube

Chaper 48: **T**he Sky and Sea Dilemma

"He's going to attack at the concert..." Riku whispered to her, his face pale and his eyes wide.

"How do you know?" She asked, though she already knew the answer. When he answered, it just confirmed her thoughts.

"He _**told**_ me." Riku said and took a deep sigh, "I don't know how your brother's transformation works, but with Seifer, he can take over at any time. Then I have to fight, which is a draining mental process, for control back."

"Then just don't go!" Olette said as the bell rang, "Have Fuu and your mom tie you up and throw you in your closet and take a lot of sleeping pills!"

Riku laughed, but then shook his head, as he walked with Olette to their next class, which coincidentally happened to be the same, "Remember how I said Fuu and I don't exactly get along?" She nodded, and he continued, "It's because of him. She thinks I should just submit to him totally while I think that I should fight him every chance I get."

"Oh...so that's what she meant by 'beliefs' and 'heritage'. Ah, I see." Olette nodded, remembering that day in the cafeteria. "So that means..."

"Yeah." He cut her off by nodding, "And it's too late to cancel the concert. I told the Council his plans, so no doubt they'll be prepared, but I'd never forgive myself if he did something horrible."

Olette was about to reply, something forced the two apart(not they wanted to be together, their relationship wasn't like that, but...). It turned out it was a _**very**_ jealous(you could see the word 'envy' written on his forehead!) Hayner. "So, 'Letty, you didn't tell me you had a new boyfriend!"

"N-New boyfriend?!?" They both spluttered, before Olette recovered and quickly said, "No, no, no! Hayner, you've got it all wrong!"

"Mm-hmm." He said in that 'not listening' tone as he crossed his arms, "So you guys were walking _particularly close_ because you're just friends?" They _had_ been walking close to each other, but that was just so no one would hear about Seifer.

"Hayner! We're not a couple!" Olette said desperately, never knowing that he could get so _**jealous**_(yet, at the same time, she felt strangely happy), "We don't even look good together! Just look at the height difference!"

Hayner looked up at Riku, then looked down at Olette. It was at least half a foot difference. "Yeah, you're right. But still! In love, it doesn't matter what the height difference, _**or**_ the age difference for that matter." He then mumbled, "Just look at Naminé and Roxas..."

"Yes, but!" Olette said, a desperate tone in her voice, trying to get Hayner to believe her, "Even _**if**_, and I say _**if**_ we were madly in love, it would never work out anyway! Roxas and Seifer aren't exactly best friends!"

"Sora and I aren't exactly best friends either..." Hayner added.

"That may be true, but I actually _like_ you--"She stopped, realizing what Hayner had done as she saw him grin. He had tricked her! He had just _pretended_ to be jealous so she'd admit her--Oooooh, that made her so mad! That..that...that jerk!

"Thanks, 'Letty, that's all I needed to know." He gave her a quick hug and bounded away happily.

Her mouth dropped and she turned to Riku was trying to fight off a chuckle. She glared at him angrily and threw her water bottle at him(which then exploded in his face, to all of his fangirls' delight), "Ugh. Men." She mumbled as she sped away.

-

"He WHAT?" Sora exclaimed, after hearing the news Olette had just heard from Riku.

"Don't worry, it's our job as the Council to not only protect the students but the orphans as well" Xemnas said.

"But...but..." Sora spluttered, at a loss for words. He wanted to party and enjoy himself! He didn't want to just guard the entrance like a boring bouncer who had no life! "_They _can't fight!" He said, pointing at Zexion, Larsa, and Demyx. The trio glared at him, and then looked at Xemnas who nodded his head in approval.

Before Sora knew it, he was laying in a giant knee-deep puddle of ice cold water(er, how the puddle managed to just contain itself there and not spread around the room, only Demyx knows) with a sword pointed to his throat. He blinked, seeing that Demyx, Larsa(the one who had the sword) and Zexion looming over him. He blinked once more, before Zexion threw a book(a really REALLY heavy book) at him. Along with the water copies of Demyx that were bashing him over the head with their water-sitars(which actually kind of hurt), Sora had a major headache. Though his headache lessened when he thought of the comical fact that Zexion's weapon was a book. Anyway, to get himself out of this predicament, he said, "Okay, okay they can fight! Just stop HURTING me...ow..."

The three got off of him as Sora rose and looked at himself. He was all wet. Though the fangirls would probably enjoy this sort of thing, he did not appreciate it in the slightest. "Wow, I'm surprised your hair is _naturally_ spiky." Mused Larxene.

"Well DUH! Geez, I don't use any hair gel! I'm one-hundred percent all-natural." Sora said, grinning as Demyx tossed him a towel. As he said the hair gel announcement, he noticed that all eyes shifted to Larxene. "Her antenna bangs aren't natural?" He questioned as she stepped forward with an evil look on her face.

"Say that again." She growled, thunder cackling around her. Since Sora hadn't gotten the opportunity to dry off, he was afraid Larxene was going to make him into a Sora-kabob. "Say that again, I dare you."

"Um..." Sora looked around for some kind of motion on what to do. He saw Larsa shaking his head, and Reno was mouthing 'DON'T DO IT!' The others were just watching interestingly, wanting to see if Sora's hair would get even spikier when he got electrocuted, "I said, your hair is so beautiful I wonder if it's natural?"

"What do you mean, you were WONDERING?" She asked, Sora having to duck and roll to avoid three consecutive lightning bolts an inch above his head.

"I-I meant, you are so beautiful Larxene, I couldn't live life without you; Reno is so lucky to get to spend time with you!" He panicked. Everyone slapped their foreheads. Way to go for bringing Reno into this. What a perfect way to instigate Larxene's hot temper.

"I am going to **kill--!**" She drew her arm back to throw her kunais at him, but Reno grabbed her arm and stopped her.

"Now, now, Ant, it wouldn't be well to get your pretty little face all worried over how you're going to fry Sora." Reno said, letting go of her as she huffed angrily and let her arm drop as the lightning died down.

But of course, Demyx had to ruin it by coughing, "Love." Of course she heard it, so she began to chase Demyx around the room, bulldozing through the water copies he made as everyone stepped away from the perimeter of the room as to not get bulldozed too. Everyone sighed and shook their heads. Larxene was like a firecracker. Set her off and watch her explode.

"Anyway, back to the matter on hand," Larsa said, clearing his throat, "We think that there should be people stationed around the orphanage in case Seifer attacks from the west, east, south or nother wings. Here is what Zexion h--"

"Wait!" Sora interrupted, shaking his head, "I forgot to ask, but how do you know about this anyway?"

"I work there." Larsa said, "For community service. Penelo and I--"

Larxene, who had stopped chasing Demyx and walked over to Larsa and pinched his cheek like she was his grandma, "Awww! Wittle Larsie-warsie has a wittle crushie-wushie!" The similarly prefix-ed boy just glared at her and smacked her hand away as everyone questioned Larxene's word choice.

"Larsie-warsie?" Reno asked with a raised eyebrow, "Thank god I'm not Weenie Reenie or something." At this, everyone just burst out laughing. The laughter was contagious and even it got sadistic Beauty Queen _Larxene_ giggling.

After everyone got over their laughing fit, Larsa continued with saying, "We work at the orphanage together since she's good friends with the people there. She heard it from someone and told me, and then I told everyone."

"Ah...I see." Sora nodded.

"Here's the plan Zexion concocted for us. It's totally righteous, dude. We call it 'Plan ZEXION ." Xigbar said, handing over some papers that had extremely detailed drawings(wow, Zexion's an artist? Who knew?) and some letters writing in precise detail what Plan ZEXION was.

"Why Zexion?" Sora asked.

"**Z**exion, who **E**laborated with **X**lyophones, **I**magined **O**ur **N**otion." Xigbar said proudly, "I thought of it myself!"

"Wait. Zexion plays the xlyophone?" The brunette asked, scratching his head, "I thought Demyx was the musician!"

"Well, that's the only thing I could think of that began with an X. There are, like, five words in the English dictionary soooo..." Xigbar trailed off, not realizing he said 'there are five words in the English dictionary'. Everyone knew what he meant to say, but still.

"There are eight words beginning with 'X' in the English language, the majority deriving from the Greek language." Zexion corrected, brushing his bangs back from his eye only for them to fall back in place.

"Zexion's sooooo smart! Geez, I can't even get past the first five pages of his book! See, lookie!" Demyx exclaimed, throwing Zexion's book at Sora, who caught it this time.

He flipped open the book to a random page and gawked at the intelligent words displayed before him, "Juxtapose?!? Extemporaneous? SLIPSHOD? Staccato?!?"

"Oh, oh!" Demyx waved his hands around wildly, "I know, I know! Staccato's a music term! It means, like...separate. Kinda." He said, proud of himself.

Zexion sighed and said, "Staccato: Adjective. Detached or disconnected in sound or style."

"Geez, now we know what YOU do late at night." Sora mumbled, reading back at the book. "Abase, expedient, harangue, sibilant, legerdemain, obstreperous, mire, parsimonious, perspicacious...yup. It's official, I have NO idea what the heck the author is writing about!"

"It's a very complex plot." Zexion said, snatching the book away from Sora and closing it with a dull thud, "I'd spend forever just getting into the basics of it." Once Sora, Demyx and Zexion were done chattering, attention immediately reverted back to the President.

"Sora, we recommend you look through the drawings and the plan thoroughly. Oh, and, one more thing...don't tell anyone about this. Not even Olette." Larsa said, everyone nodding.

"Wait...but, why?" He asked, confused. He could trust Olette with anything. Actually, at times, he trusted his sister more than himself.

"There are some things kept _extremely_ confidential." Larsa explained, "Things only I and the Principal know. It's for your, and her, safety. Trust us, Sora."

Sora, clearly the trusting type(and not having Roxas there to warn him), nodded, "Well, alright. I'll trust you. I don't know how smart that may be, but I will. By the way, I've never seen the Principal before. Who is he?"

"A guy who knows everything!" Demyx piped up, "I think he's related to Zexion. Anyway, I've only met him once!"

"He's _not_ related to Zexion." Xemnas mumbled, "They don't even look alike. _I'm_ related to the Principal, _I _would know."

"I want to see the Principal!" Sora whined. He sounded like such a cool dude...well, maybe not if he was related to the Creator of the meaning 'Boring', Xemnas. But still, seeing the Principal was a thing people got to do once, maybe twice, in their _lifetime._ Olette was always blabbing about how important it was in a highschool career to meet the Principal. Now he would get to shove something in Olette's face. One, Sora. Zero, Olette.

"He needs to be introduced to the newest Student Council member, anyway." Larsa said, smiling as he left the office.

"Follow him, peon!" Xemnas commanded, poking Sora in the back.

"But wait! Why is nobody coming?!?" He asked, panicking. What if the Principal was a super-evil dude who was going to throw really heavy books at him or stick his head in a fire or something?

"Because only a select few are allowed to see the Principal on a daily basis. Those select few who see the Principal on a daily basis are the very gifted individuals such as Larsa and myself. Now, GO! It wouldn't be wise to keep Ansem waiting." Xemnas said, then laughed, "Hahaha, get it? Ansem? Wise? Oh, nevermind, just LEAVE!"

Sora got kicked out of the office rather cruelly as he saw Larsa walking towards the Principal's office down the hall. He stood up and ran after the President, catching up with the boy easily due to his superior running abilities. "So, what's the Principal like?"

Larsa closed his eyes for a moment, thinking, then opened them and said, "A wise, wise man. He knows everything. Everyone calls him 'Ansem the Wise' due to his wisdom."

"And he's related to Xemnas? Do they look alike?" Sora questioned, wondering what this guy looked like.

"Well, not really. You see, Xemnas' younger half-brother's half-brother is Ansem." Larsa explained, glancing at Sora to see his overwhelmed expression, "Xemnas and his younger bother, Xehanort, are brothers by their mother. And Xehanort and Ansem are brothers by their father."

"I see." Sora scratched his head, "Kinda. Geez, I wish I were as smart as you!" He mumbled, scratching his head, "You know **everything**, like Zexion."

"..." Larsa was quiet for a moment, then said, "It was my wish to not be ignorant when I die. Do you think they offer me these opportunities because I am such a brilliant boy? That may just be a bonus, but they know of the curse."

"They feel..." Sora said slowly, feeling terribly guilty of committing the same crime as the people who told Larsa all he knows, "...pity for you."

"Yes. Do you know how many people ask 'What's it like to know you are going to die?'" Larsa asked, then answered his own question, "I always say, 'What's it like to know you are going to **live?'**"

"I suppose..." Sora started thoughtfully, rubbing his chin as they drew closer to the Principal's office, "you hate it because you're pitied due to the curse. People act nice to you, just because you're going to die."

"I suppose that is my fate as a descendant of the person who killed off the last of the Tsugare line." Larsa shrugged, "There is not much I can do about it. Thank you for listening, Sora. I highly appreciate it. Now," He turned to the brunette, nodding his head towards the door to the Principal's office, "Are you ready?"

"You guys are making it seem like this Principal is going to chop my head off if I don't say the right things!" Sora said, then asked, "He's not, is he?"

Larsa laughed, "Of course not. But you don't have to meet him if you don't want."

"But I _want_ to!" Sora whined, and Larsa smiled and opened the door.

"It's settled, then." He walked inside the office, only to see a blonde female wearing revealing clothing at the desk with the plaque that read 'Ansem the Wise'. She actually looked quite like Larxene, Sora thought.

"He's a CHICK!" Sora exclaimed, his mouth dropping to the floor and turning to Larsa, "He's a GIRL?!?"

"Oh no," The woman laughed, "_I'm_ not Ansem the Wise, love. I was waiting here for _years_ to ask him about my dear little Noojie-Woojie!"

"Do you know where he is?" Sora asked, but the woman just looked at him like an idiot. It was too bad Sora was used to that stare, or he might've retaliated.

"If I knew where he was I wouldn't be here!" She replied angrily.

"Sorry, Sora, he must not be here then." Larsa said, then said, "Well, Miss Leblanc, would you like to meet the Council instead? They may be able to help you with your problem."

"Oh, Larsa, I haven't even noticed you, dear." Leblanc smiled and stood up, "Well, if they can help me find my Noojie then I want to see them!"

"Alright then, follow us, please." Larsa said, walking out of the office. Sora immediately followed, glancing back to see the pink-clothed(er, lack thereof) blonde right on their heels. She seemed impatient, and had a vicious looking fan in her hand, waving it as impatiently as the expression on her face. It looked like she was going to hit someone. Sora _certainly_ didn't want to be on the far end of _that._

"Larsa, speed it up a little." Sora whispered, glancing nervously back at the anxious Leblanc. Larsa glanced back at Leblanc, then nodded, starting to run as if she were a cop and they had just murdered the President. No pun intended.

Sora kept up with the younger boy easily, almost scoffing as his 'sprinting' would be considered Sora's 'jogging'. Simultaneously, they looked back to see if Leblanc was following, and indeed she was.

Running through the halls(Sora having to jump over a Caution sign signaling that someone 'accidentally' spilt their water(hmmm...wonder where THAT came from?) while walking through the halls) and rounding many a corner, the trio finally arrived at the Student Council office. Larsa and Leblanc were gasping for breath, while Sora had barely even broke a sweat. "God, you guys are pathetic. You'd never even make it past first cuts for track."

Both glared at him. Unbeknownst to Sora, Larsa made a mental note to try out for track and beat him. I guess they were getting slightly competitive, huh? "I'd like to challenge that." Larsa said, and Sora just gave him a suspicious look.

However, before the brunette could continue, Leblanc yelled, "Are you going in or not, loves? Because I can't afford to stay out here all day!"

"Alright." Larsa said, composing himself as he opened the Student Council door. The three were instantly greeted with the sounds of arguments all over the place. Reno and Larxene were in a huge fight(they were all _**so**_ shocked to see this occurring), with some of the older members having to hold Larxene and Reno back so they wouldn't kill each other. Off to the side, Luxord was playing poker with Zexion, Marluxia, and Xigbar. Currently, Luxord was schooling them(no pun intended again), as he had the most chips.

Larsa cleared his throat quite loudly, and shouted, "Attention, everyone!!" As if on cue, everyone stopped fighting and turned towards the President. He smiled, glad that everyone's attention was on him and they had stopped fighting for once in their lives, _**especially**_ Reno and Larxene. "Now, I am sure you all know Miss Lebla--"

"What is **she** doing here?" Luxord demanded, standing up. Leblanc gasped and her eyes narrowed when she caught sight of the Gambler of Fate.

"Luxord! I thought I told you to **stay away** from Noojie-Woojie and me! Out of my sight!" Leblanc yelled, growling viciously. Everyone rolled their eyes, the same thought on their mind: _'Oh great. An older generation of Larxene and Reno.'_

"Don't give me that, Leblanc!" Luxord shouted back, "While you went out partying with that old man who's at _least_ twice as old as you are--"

"See! This is why I broke up with you in the first place! You're too controlling, Luxord! I can do what I want!" Leblance replied. Now _this_ got everyone interested. They had a relationship? This brought back more similarities between our favorite blonde and redhead couple.(Don't tell them _**I**_ said that) Everyone hoped this wasn't some kind of foreshadowing that was going to tell them what would happen to Reno and Larxene in the future.

"I don't think it's right that you just **forgot** about our daughter!" Luxord snapped. Everyone's mouth hung slightly ajar. With the exception of Sora and Demyx, who were spluttering, 'Y-You...a-and her' over and over again in disbelief.

"Well, what are _**you**_ doing that's so righteous? You're just gambling everything away, like you were nineteen years ago!" Leblanc barked. Everyone let him continue to argue, because that was the only un-nosy way of figuring out what went on between the two of them.

"I'm surprised, Leblanc. You forgot what your own daughter looks like after nineteen years?" Luxord asked, giving her a look.

It was Reno who pieced together the information, "You both are blondes...your names begin with 'L', and you have a daughter that's nineteen years old..."

All eyes, excluding Luxord and Leblanc's(whose were still locked on each other) traveled to Larxene, the only blonde nineteen-year-old whose name began with an 'L'.

"What?" Larxene snapped, "Why is everyone looking at me? _**I'm**_ not their daughter." Still, the stares ensued.

Reno, who, despite their troublesome quarrels, was probably closest to the blonde more than anyone, said(or was the only one who had enough guts to say), "Larxene, you said you were dropped off at an orphanage while you were still young, yes?"

"Yes, but..." She growled, facing her could-be parents(which would be very odd, considering the fact that if they _were_ her parents then she'd be **very** embarrassed for having a drinking partner for a father), "Tell me the truth!"

"Luxord..." Leblanc sighed heavily, crossing her arms, "I guess that one night has finally caught up to us. I tried to escape it, but I guess that no matter what, the past will always come back to haunt you. **Arlene**, it's true. We're...your...parents."

"Arlene?" Reno questioned, glancing at Larxene who was as frozen as an icecube, after hearing the revelation.

"She changed her name at some point in her life." Luxord crossed his arms, "I guess she was ashamed of having a name that reminded her of her parents whom abandoned her. Which we didn't, Larxene..."

The ice that had frozen Larxene's expression thawed into a livid expression, static filling the room, making everyone's hair stand on end.(Which Reno was very upset about, do you know how long it takes to get his hair like that? Although it was comical to see everyone with frizzy hair, especially Zexion) "What do you mean," She growled, balling up her fists and shaking with anger, "What do you mean you didn't **abandon **me?"

Luxord and Leblanc exchanged glances until Leblanc spoke, "It was...the night of the Senior Prom, you see, love. We were too young, and hadn't experienced life yet. We knew you wouldn't be able to take care of you. We made a mistake and we realized it. That's why, Larxene. We thought you would be better off with someone who would take care of you..."

"But **no one** who adopted me ever kept me!" She growled, "They thought I was mental and not normal! Every family, every one, **sent me back!"**

'_So that's why she hates Reno,'_ Sora thought, _'He has what she always wanted, no matter how much she denies. Wouldn't you think, Roxas?'_ When he didn't receive a reply from his sidekick he panicked for about five minutes until he realized that Roxas was currently back at home, probably skipping around in a field of flowers saying how great life is. Or, with the monotone one, was probably stomping and burning the flowers the other was skipping on.

"Ever since you joined the Council, Larxene, I've been watching over you." Luxord said, and smiled, "If it makes any difference."

"But..." Larxene blinked, remembering all the times she had consulted him with her life plans, and even told him the **two** biggest secrets of her life(okay, okay, maybe she had a _little_ too much to drink that day), but he never suggested against any of it, "How come you never protested against me drinking underage or any of that?"

"If I did, you wouldn't have trusted me. It pained me to see my daughter endanger her health, but if I had protested, you would probably think of me as another bossy adult." Luxord said, and shrugged.

"Wait..." Sora suddenly said, peering at Leblanc and Luxord, "You guys are Larxene's PARENTS?!?" Well someone was experiencing a little backlog, "But dude...you're both like, twenty!"

"Actually, we're thirty-seven." They said collectively. Everyone who had less than half a brain gasped.

"It's hard to tell, isn't it? I know, I know, I'm soooo beautiful." Leblanc said overdramatically, flipping her hair, "Anyway, loves, I need to go and find Noojie! Luxord," She said sharply, not even bothering giving him a glance, "If our daughter wishes to talk to us then make an appointment, okay? I'm very busy, loves. Bye then!" With that, she ran out of the room, obviously not wanting to face Larxene.

However, you could see by the girl's face she would not allow it. She growled, lightning cackling madly around her, and her fists balled up, her face expressing the word 'furious' perfectly. Looking closely(which wouldn't be recommended), you could see there was a dash of disappointment hidden well in her face. Only people who really knew her would be able to tell, i.e. Reno and maybe Luxord. "She will **NOT** just walk out on me again!" Larxene growled, running, at the speed of lightning, after her.

"Larxene!" they all called after her with Reno, now Axel, sighing and placing a hand on his frizzy hair(which was still frizzy because the static was still there).

"I'll go after her." Axel said, shaking his head, "Fire travels at the closet speed to lightning other than light, but of course, Roxas isn't here. Why the hell is he always gone when you need him?" Axel sighed, "See you guys later." With that, he disappeared in a flash.

Sora, being oddly forgetful today, just _had_ to ask, "Love?"

"Absolutely."

* * *

I always wanted to end the chapter like that. Anyway/some/ of Larxene's past. And her two biggest secrets...you'll find out two chapters from now. You already know one of them, so yeah. xD Anyway, how many of you guys were surprised?

-raises hand- Me! xDDD Naw, I just got that idea when I replayed FFX-2. Then I was like...'Hey...Leblanc and Luxord are blondes...their names begin with L...' Hey! It could happen. xD

Anyway, next chapter is the concert chapter! YAAAAY, who's excited?!? I am, I am:D Though, OH NOEZ SEIFER ATTACK? Let's hope that all goes well and Seifer decides to be merciful. xD


	14. Other Days and the Garden of Life

Disclaimer: I wish you would step back from that ledge my friend, you could cut ties with all the lies that you've been living in, 'caauuuse the way you've been thinking about owning Kingdom Hearts is absolutely understaaaandable...absolutely understaaaaaandable...(Yup, yup, Jumper has been on repeat for awhile this time) P.S. I don't own Tide to Go, either.

P.S.S.: Do NONE of you guys take Latin?(Bad Grammar FTW) I thought it would be so obvious! -sigh- Oh well, more hints coming your way. (About what? Well, I can't tell you that yet :D) Oh, and, I'm sorry if you guys were hoping for some Christmas carols. I decided not to put the lyrics of any of them in, I just said 'as he sings Christmas carols' or whatever. Oh, oh, and, it shouldn't be too hard to imagine Kairi/Roxas/Nami-chan singing. (Brittany Snow is in Hairspray, so obviously she sings, Hayden Panettiere sings, you'd know that if you watched Ice Princess, and you're an idiot if you don't know Jesse McCartney sings. If you're not from an English country/country where his albums are out/didn't know McCartney was his voice actor, then all is forgiven. :D)

P.S.P.S.: Sorry, sorry, sorry, but there's minor crack! in this chapter. I couldn't help it, though, it just turned out like that. I apologize ten times over to anyone who hates anything 'sides canon. Don't worry, it's not blatantly obvious, like 'OMG LUXORD KISSED KAIRI' or anything like that.(Which isn't the pairing, but whateves) Besides, I tried to stress that they're _friends_. While writing, I realized it would've made an excellent crack! oneshot. Damn. -sigh- Oh well. I suppose if you guys request for it separately then I could change things up a little. :D:D:D

P.S.S.P.S.: Now that I think of it, I've never tried to shoot a fire/a/ga spell at Axel before. Does he absorb fire? -thoughtful-

P.S.S.S.S.: I know you guys hated the last chapter, so I hope this one will be better. Although, you're probably going to want to shoot me at the end of this chapter, buuuut...

Anyway, the show must go on!

Angels in Flight: Eien no Tobira

Chapter 49: **O**ther Days and the Garden of Life's Circle

It was full of cheer, laughing children, buffets that could make even the most boundless pit of a stomach full, seriously decked-out gizmos that Sora didn't remember even being invented(courtesy of Rufus Shinra), and most of all..._songs._ At least the ecstatic angel wasn't dancing, though other people(-cough-Kairi-cough-) had gotten their groove on, and had persuaded Sora to dance with said person which Sora did with a terrible crimson masking his face because of dancing with said person which Olette found quite cute. But Olette couldn't comment on anything else because her attention wasn't on anything that would make her face turn crimson, like Sora to said person. Said person seeing sadness in Olette, she offered company to the girl who was not participating in karaoke or dancing, only commenting on how cute Sora and said person were to anyone who bothered to listen, which included a really bored Zexion who was the only other person not involved with singing and/or dancing. However, Olette said to said girl that she should have fun and not worry about her.

"I mean, they're both airheads, but at the same time I think they really complement each other on their easygoingness. That's a word, right? It doesn't sound right." Olette said amongst the carols the perky Roxas were ever-so-happily singing with the company of Demyx playing the sitar and Axel rocking the piano, since Reno wasn't musical, and he would absolutely ruin the melody if he played. There were still some people stationed around the orphanage, such as Zexion(who happened to be stationed near Olette so she could talk about Sora and said person and how good they made of a couple) and Xemnas and a couple of others. Although Riku or Hayner or any other supernatural beings excluding Axel(a machine able to manipulate fire residing in the body of a wealthy heir certainly _isn't_ normal) and the angelic Roxas as well as Sora's newly-discovered angelicness himself.(Although both were certainly very good at hiding their wings, except from Larsa who saw them anyway, but there was no hiding anything from that kid) Maybe a overly depressed and more morbid than normal Larxene was a bit more on the side of the supernatural, who Luxord was trying to cheer up, but without Axel there to argue with her(because he was more occupied with a piano) she was just...depressing more than sadistic. As if the fight had been sucked out of her. Anyway.

"Do you want to know the truth?" Zexion said, then added, "In my eyes, no less. Be careful; it's a harsh one."

"Why not? You're the genius, here, you'll know what's going on more than I would. Life is usually harsh, anyway. I think I can handle it." Olette said, sighing as she watched everyone have so much fun. She had taken a biscuit from the large variety of food that served as a buffet and was now munching on it, kicking her legs out from underneath the chair repeatedly in tune to the beat Demyx and Axel were keeping in sacrifice for Larxene's happiness(in the case of Axel).

"I think that you're depressed, Olette." Zexion stated, then looked at her, "I think Hayner has really gotten to you and it's been affecting you." He sighed, "Like most girls."

"What do you mean, 'like most girls'?" Olette asked, suddenly angry that he'd make an assumption of her, "What do you mean by that? You may be a genius, but you don't know everything!" She was mad that he was right. They both knew that. He was right, of course. Zexion was always right about everything.

"You felt like he betrayed you because he was lying to you all that time. You never let it show, but now you do. You're letting it get to you because you really care for him and you wonder why he doesn't feel the same way, and you know he doesn't because then he wouldn't have done something as heartless as that, even if it was forced. Right?" He asked, looking to the girl. She had stopped kicking her feet, and her face was down, her hands covering it. You could barely hear her sobs over the carols. In fact, you couldn't, but somehow Zexion could. He sighed. He hated it when he made girls cry, which happened more often than not when he accurately read their problems. Feeling obligated to cheer her up, he walked over to the buffet and snagged a mint chocolate carton of ice cream, not even opened, and a spoon and walked back over to her and handed it to her. "Eat it, it'll make you feel better."

Olette barely whispered a 'thank you' as she downed the whole carton within a seemingly five minutes. "How'd you know I liked mint chocolate?" She asked quietly, as she looked up at all of the people dancing and singing. She just couldn't look at Zexion straight in the face now. She'd feel like she was betraying Hayner, and she couldn't do that.

"Eh." Zexion shrugged, "Lucky guess."

Meanwhile, amongst the sparkle of the magnificent chandeliers now hanging on the once gloomy, dreadful walls, laughter and dancing and singing was going on amongst all age groups. One could even catch Boring McBoringheimer(Xemnas) humming one of the Christmas carols Roxas(since he was the only Roxas present, we shall call him Roxas instead of 'perky Roxas')was ever-so-beautifully singing. Every ounce of his emotion was just pouring into every single note, and Demyx and Axel were playing with just as much passion as Roxas was singing with. It was like they had waited their whole entire life for this moment with how much fervor they were playing/singing with.

One particular group whom was laughing, singing, and dancing, was the group of Sora and the aforementioned 'said person', both of whom were practically enjoying this event. The 'said person' happened to be a girl of sixteen, very pretty with indigo eyes and an abundance of auburn hair thinned and flattened so it resembled silk, the said person also being an exceptionally talented girl in cheerleading, ice skating, and multiple forms of dancing. And, most importantly, this said person was the object of Sora's attention. Yes, Sora's dancing partner was none other than the dazzling Kairi, both of whom were particularly enjoying the evening. All the chandeliers and the magnificent lights amplified Kairi's radiance, and though not a couple, the two looked so happy to be together that it was a shame they were not.

On the other side of the floor, another object of someone else's affection was sitting with her two older brothers, two of whom looking on happily, the other unable to do so. Of course, the one unable to do so was a flaxen-haired blonde with eyes--ah, actually, her eye color was unknown to everyone but her two brothers. The reason for that being that she was blind and was represented as such by wearing bandages over her eyes. The blonde would have looked absolutely endearing in her cute Christmas outfit if it were not for her bandages.

"Reks, Vaan," She spoke up in her absolutely angelic voice as soft as a feather(if her brothers' ears were not trained to hear her soft voice, they might have not even known she talked), "why are we not partaking in such activities? It sounds like such fun!"

Vaan looked at Reks, who looked at his brother and then his sister, then back at the crowd. "When you're older, Naminé, you'll understand."

"Oh...I have a question, is Ven busy?" She asked quite timidly, gripping her hands in her red dress trimmed with white...fluff?

"He's singing right now," Vaan answered, "But after he's done you can give him your gift. What is it, by the way?"

She smiled, shaking her head. "It's a secret. But I know he'll like it." She said, then giggled and shook her head, "Oh, I can't wait!"

"Someone's happy." Reks stated, smiling because his sister was happy. At times like these, Reks could not help but remember of his parents, whom were dead, and their life thirteen years ago, when everything had collapsed. Vaan didn't really remember their parents, but he could somewhat remember their mother's voice and father's face. There was no way Naminé knew anything about who they were and who their parents had been, after all, how much do you remember as an infant? But Reks, well, he knew everything, and he had told Vaan everything once he grew older. The two had promised that they'd only tell Naminé about it when she either came of age(sixteen or so) or if she asked about it. Other than that, Reks wanted to keep it an absolute secret. Even if everyone knew about it, it wasn't like they could do anything about it anyway. Though knowing Ven and his friends, they would **definitely** want to fix this injustice.

"Oh, you bet! I just love parties like these!" Naminé said, clasping her hands together, "I can't help but feel as if they're nostalgic, even if I can't see what's going on!"

Reks sighed, "Yeah, we feel nostalgic, too, Naminé..."

-

When the little children had been put to sleep, smiles lighting their faces when Axel gave them their presents. It was decided that he should do it, because he was the one who bought them, after all. Now that the Christmas carols and jovial holiday mood was over, that left the teenaged orphans, the teenagers from the school, and the adults. Reks and Vaan, who had been making sure all the children were asleep, gave them a thumbs-up when it was found that all of the children had slipped into a deep slumber.

"Okay, everyone," It was not Roxas at the microphone, but Kairi. It was discovered that along with her multitude of talents, she had quite a lovely singing voice, "Are you ready to rock!!"

The teenaged orphans, and everyone else, applauded and cheered in reply. She started to sing,

"_Six a.m.  
Radio Playin'  
Stumble out of bed,  
Runnin' out the door  
A brand new day  
Never thought I'd have this feeling  
Never thought I'd get this far  
But I'm okay..."_

Everyone was cheering her on, Axel and Demyx playing the piano and sitar respectively. Everyone was dancing excluding the Amaterasu siblings(Reks, Vaan, and Naminé), Zexion, and Olette. Xemnas and the other Council members really could be considered dancing, as they were dancing in their spots(such as Marluxia, who was getting down with his bad self) by tapping their foots, humming along, or even breakdancing(in the case of Xaldin).

"Why don't you go out there and enjoy yourself, Olette?" Zexion, who had taken a seat beside her, asked. She shrugged and looked at him.

"I could ask you the same thing." She replied, looking back at the crowd whom were having so much fun. She could see that they were now gathered into a large circle, someone in the middle showing off their moves, much like the Student Council party.

"I'm stationed here. I can't go out and party, it's against protocol." He answered, and she sighed.

"Duty, duty, duty, that's all you care about, isn't it? Sometimes, Zexion, I think you're not **human.**" She said, knowing that he had a _spirit_ of a machine melded inside of him, but that didn't have to make him so robotic.

"Well, that makes three." He mumbled, then explained, "My parents, too. They think I'm some sort of super-genius. They fear for me because I don't have any friends outside the Council, which is the only reason why I go to school."

"Do something human for once." Olette sighed, standing up and looked at him, "I'll dance if you dance." Zexion sighed and gave her a 'Do I have to?' look.

"Are you sure you want to be dancing with **me?**" He asked, "Aren't you worried about Hayner thinking that you're cheating on him?" In truth, Zexion was an excellent dancer(especially at the waltz), but he wasn't going to let anyone catch onto his secret obsessions which included a plethora of things any fangirl would kill themselves twice over to know.

"We're friends, aren't we?" She asked, but he just shook his head. It would be way too...**awkward** if anyone saw them dancing together. Especially Sora. Yes, especially him. Zexion didn't want people to be chasing around him with over-sized keys and blitzballs for the rest of his High School career. He always tended to avoid confrontation if possible, yet Zexion's genius(and the truth of his words) always made people mad because they couldn't stand it when he was right. Which he always was, by the way. Never received a test or quiz he didn't get a '100' on.

"No." He replied cooly, crossing his arms, "Just because I gave you a carton of ice cream and acted as your psychiatrist does not mean we're, what do you girls call it? 'Biffle?' Well, I'm not one of your stupid girlfriends, so stop acting like it."

Olette frowned, glaring at him. What a rude little ungrateful brat! "S-Stupid girlfriend?" She asked, her face heating up in anger, "Just because you don't have any friends doesn't mean you have to pick on me!" She shook her head, walking away, cutting straight through the crowd.

Sora noticed his sister pass by him with an angry expression on her face, so he grabbed her arm and followed her(almost involuntarily! Geez, he hadn't realized how strong Olette was!) outside. Though he hadn't really wanted to be outside, since where he had been had a _great_ view of Kairi and the lights sparkled on her in **such** a radiant way that she looked like she had been sent from heaven. Ahhh, Sora's mind went to wonderland after remembering the scene. But, no, his sister came first.

"He's such an idiot!" She mumbled angrily, "I can't believe him! He said that..." She growled and clenched her fists until her knuckles turned white(with no help contributed from the weather), "Ugh! I can't believe Hayner is from the same _species!"_

"What happened, Olette?" Sora asked, but before Olette answered, both heard two familiar voices from above.

"Are you sure we have to do this, Seifer?" It was Hayner's voice, and by the proximity of his voice and where it seemed to be located, they could tell the two were standing on the roof.

"Of course we do! If you weren't so damn **soft** they'd be dead already!" Seifer barked.

"What do you mean 'soft'? If _you_ had to kill Naminé, how would _you_ feel? I couldn't take that girl's life just because _you_ ordered me to." They heard the dirty blonde huff and say, "I wish she weren't Sora's sister. Then Olette wouldn't have to get involved with all of this _crap._"

"What do you mean, 'crap'!" This was Rai's boisterous voice they heard shouting, "Seifer's only goal is to defeat that pansy of an angel, y'know! For love, y'know! If you care about Olette, then you'd know the feeling, y'know?!?"

"I don't care who gets killed or hurt." Hayner replied sharply, "As long as you leave her alone, I don't care what you do with the others."

"Heh, so you really **are** a softie." They could hear Seifer say, "How sweet. I'm sure Lucifer wouldn't like that weakness, you know."

"I'm sure Lucifer doesn't like it that you're so pathetic to hold a stupid grudge for so long!" Hayner spat back, and the twins couldn't help but congratulate him mentally(even if Sora hated him) for telling what they all wished to tell Seifer, "It's just a girl! Find another one! I don't understand it. If a girl has a boyfriend, find another girl! It's as simple as that."

"**Shut up.**" Seifer growled, "You could never begin to understand what it's like! She chose some...some...machine angel _thing_ over me!"

"No, I understand. That you're so pathetic you have to _force_ a girl to marry you." Hayner said, knowing that this wasn't just about Naminé, it was about Seifer's ego. If he hadn't been so cocky, then everyone wouldn't be in this mess. The twins silently 'ooohed, you just got burned' and waited to hear Seifer's most likely colorful reply.

"You know, I suddenly realized I don't like you. And you know what I do to people I don't like?" Seifer asked, with a dangerous tone to his voice(that made Olette gasp with worry for Hayner), "I make sure they experience the most **torturous** and **painful** experiences before their death."

Suddenly, they saw Hayner flying overhead(Seifer probably threw him off the roof) and landing on the ground. Olette gasped and was about to run to him, but Sora grabbed her sleeve and said, "Olette, you heard what they said. If they see you out there..." He trailed off and shook his head. She frowned and could just watch on helplessly as Seifer and (of course) his loyal entourage dropped down to where Hayner had fallen, all three wielding their weapons.

"I'm sure Lucifer wouldn't mind if one of his servants got killed off. I need a warm-up fight anyway." Seifer said, then laughed almost maniacally.

Hayner's soul(err, spellbook) appeared in his hands, and he sighed, saying, "Seifer, you don't want to fight me. With this in my hands, I am invincible."

"We'll see about that." Seifer grinned, "Hit me with your best spell." Neither Seifer nor Hayner noticed Sora and Olette, since neither were facing towards them.

"Well, if you're asking for it." He said, then grinned as he started to glow. He placed a hand on the ground, and a spell symbol, a triangle within a circle, and three small circles on each point of the triangle, appeared. In a blur, three clones of himself were standing on each small circle at the points of the triangles. They each jumped up at the same time, becoming streams of light. The streams of light swirled around in the sky like a halo, and the sky turned black, as if they had all been transported into space.

Sora and Olette saw Seifer brace himself with the gunblade. Suddenly, the lights joined as one and shot up into the sky. A searing heat, one that Olette and Sora felt, came upon them. "It's like being in a sauna.." Sora mumbled, both twins fanning themselves. Suddenly, they saw a meteor, and they could see a shining light within it. Sora glanced inside the orphanage window, seeing that everyone was oblivious to what was going on outside. Looking back at the scene, they could seel the meteor fall onto Seifer, and everything went white.

When the flash, huge explosion that almost made them go deaf, all dimmed away, they were shocked at what they saw. Yet again, Riku was left with far worse burns than one could ever imagine. He was passed out on the floor. Hayner stumbled backwards, clutching his heart; you could see he had worn himself out. "Ha...how's that...for my best...spell?" He huffed, dropping to the floor as well.

They could see Rai pick up Riku and throw him over his shoulder and was going to walk away, but didn't. However, Fuu was under no circumstances going to just walk away peacefully. They could see her hiss and growl at the defenseless Hayner, her expression twisted into that of unbelievable anger. "DIE!" She shouted, throwing her pinwheels onto him.

"NOO!" Olette cried, running over to them at an unnatural speed(her sleeve getting ripped in the process). Sora got up and ran after her, thinking he could beat her to it, but too late. The damage was already done. Fuu gasped, realizing what she had just done, and shook her head looking back at Sora, whose mouth was open.

Olette was lying there, next to Hayner. It would have been completely sweet except for the fact that a pinwheel was sticking out of back, and blood was making her previously orange shirt red. Sora knew he had the power to heal, but he didn't know how to use it yet. He hoped to every Authority out there that he would still be able to contact angel Roxas. With all his might, he yelled out, **'ROXAS! GET ****OVER**** HERE BEFORE OUR SISTER DIES!'** Kneeling down beside her, he took out the pinwheel from her back, and heard her gasp in pain. Good, at least she was alive.

Hayner, who was drifting on the borders between consciousness and unconsciousness , shook himself awake when he saw what happened. "O-Olette!" He grabbed onto her hand and squeezed it, "Olette, hang in there, okay?" He showed no emotion on his face, nothing betraying that he felt intensely worried and guilty(which was true), but Sora somehow saw through it.

"I don't suppose you have any spells that could help?" Sora cursed his bad luck, "If only I knew how to heal...!" He didn't want to try to expend any of his powers, because he might accidentally release an explosion instead(like last time) and that would kill Olette for **sure.**

"I'm sorry, I don't. Well..." Hayner looked at Olette, whose face was contorted with pain as she gripped onto his hand tightly, "I can teleport her to the hospital, though. If Roxas doesn't come here soon..."

Sora growled, not at Hayner but because Roxas certainly was taking his time. "Stay here, with her," Sora glanced up at Fuu, Rai, and the burnt Riku over his shoulder, "If you guys lay a finger on her I _**swear**_ that the only witness to your deaths will be me, Hayner, and the Authority above who I have connections with so you better damn well **think twice** before doing _anything._" He growled. By the tone of his voice you could tell 'Happy Happy Joy Joy Sora' was ticked off. Already being one for a short temper, he could feel the anger building inside him like a boiling teapot. Clenching his fists and sprinting into the shining lights and jovial people of the inside of the orphanage, he waded his way through the sea of people as quickly as possible before he found his designated target.

Grabbing the angel by the ear, to which he screamed(over the music, no one heard him) and said, "NOOOOO I WAS UP NEEEEXXXXXXT!" Ignoring the flailing and wailing of the angel, Sora practically threw him outside like a blitzball, the door would have been knocked down if it weren't open already. Landing in mud, Roxas stood up and grimaced. Not at the scene(which he had not glanced over yet) but because his clothes were now **stained** and **impure.** And angels...well, if you knew anything about _them_ it was that they were **NOT** impure. He started to panic and was about to run inside, screaming, "DOES ANYONE HAVE TIDE TO GO?!?"

Sora, fed up with his perkiness and lack of seriousness at the dire situation, grabbed the angel by the collar and shouted, "ROXAS! Do you WANT Olette to die!"

Roxas turned towards him, his eyes shining to the brim with tears. "D-Die?!? Sister Olette? No, no, no," He laughed nervously, "Olette's too levelheaded to get herself in da--" He said as Sora pointed to the scene. Roxas slowly and fearfully turned his head towards the scene. He squeaked, his hands clapping over his mouth. His eyes grew wide and instead of helping out like a good 'brother' would do, his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he fell to the floor like a stick, like one of those scenes in the movie where the person turns pale and then faints mysteriously.

Sora growled again, cursing Roxas for his lightheartedness, and ran over to Hayner and Olette again. He placed on Hayner's shoulder and said, "Do you think you could teleport her to the hospital? Just say you're me. Please, don't leave her side." He hated how his tone had a bit of a pleading note in it. Hayner nodded and within a split second, both were gone.

Standing up and looking at Fuu and Rai, the aforementioned having her eyes wide open, whether it be in fear or shock of what just happened, Sora couldn't tell. But all he knew was that he was mad, mad that his sister had gotten hurt and mad that the angel Roxas had proved to be so useless. He needed to take that anger out on something, preferably someone, before he exploded and released an amount of energy that would kill everyone on impact. With, in his condition, Sora predicted happening pretty soon. He took a step towards the two, but Fuu just shook her head and backed up a little, mumbling, "Accident."

"Accident?!?" Sora yelled, absolutely enraged. Things like that don't happen, don't happen to _Olette,_ just on accident! "That was not an accident! Seifer wanted her dead anyway! You're his accomplice, you des--"

"Woah, woah, woah." A hand rested on Sora's shoulder. He recognized the voice. Axel. Glancing behind him, he saw the redhead(wow, he hadn't noticed how _tall_ Axel was until now) and Larsa assembled outside. Everyone else was probably assuring everyone inside that it was okay. After all, people panicking like chickens with their heads cut off is surely not something someone wanted to witness amidst all the confusion and chaos that was apparently going on. "Calm down, Sora, before you do something you're going to regret."

Suddenly, the burnt to a crisp Riku woke up(with all the burns he had across the body, it was hard to believe he was acting as if all was well), and Rai let him down. Turning around, you could see his crystal blue eyes(signifying that the maniacal blonde was in control) burning into Axel. "Well," He said, placing a hand on his shoulder as he rolled his neck around, suddenly growing an inch or two as his hair turned blonde, "I told you to mark my words. I want to fight **you** Rudolph," The burns on his body healed(Sora wondered how this was possible; for his transformation all injuries were sustained), "So no one better damn interfere. Got that, spiky?" He turned to Sora and gave him a look that made Sora feel inferior. But he stood strong, determined that he would not let Seifer play any of his mind tricks.

"I won't interfere until someone calls for it, or until you get help from your cronies." As Sora said cronies, he glared daggers at Fuu who still had a mildly shocked look on her face. It was safe to say she did not expect Olette to take the blow for Hayner. Actually, she hadn't even noticed(neither had Rai) that both brunettes were out while their miniature fight was commencing.

Axel grinned, cracking his knuckles and said, "Bring it on!" Flame trailed down his arms in a swirl to materialize to his chakrams. Seifer's gunblade appeared in his hand as his entourage stepped back. Sora and Larsa, both armed and ready in case something happened, stepped back as well. Sora glanced at the fainted Roxas, wondering if he should pull him out of harm's way, then decided against it. He was so angry with the angel for not helping Olette that he decided he deserved it, even if it wasn't Roxas' fault.

Axel was the first to make his move. He threw a flaming chakram at Seifer, who blocked it with his gunblade. It fell to the ground, and when it did, the flames on it concentrated to a certain point and a whole column of fire shot up and right towards Seifer. "Not falling for that twice!" The blonde yelled, referring to Hayner's meteor spell, as he held his Hyperion(his gunblade model, as he bragged about all too much) up to the flame. It reflected, the flame ten times the size it was, back to Axel who just welcomed it with open arms(almost literally). He seemed to just absorb the stream of fire.

"Ha! Is that the best you can do?" Seifer asked, shadow clones of himself, looking exactly like the original(Larsa and Sora groaned at this. Oh yay, more jerks for the world!), appearing. All of them attacked Axel at the same time, the redhead now radiating flames that seared anything that touched them. The shadow clones burned to a crisp, and Seifer jumped back, Sora gasping as Seifer's burns healed.

"You cheater!" The brunette shouted, pointing an accusing finger towards Seifer, "Your wounds are healing! How is Axel supposed to beat you?" It would make sense, then, as too why Seifer hadn't received the burns Riku got involuntarily from Hayner(who didn't know Riku was the one that was going to be receiving the spell).

"Sora, relax. I like a challenge." Axel said, the mane of flames that had been radiating off of him dimming down to nothing. His chakrams appearing in his hands again, he grinned. Sora was stumped as to why Axel would want to fight _Seifer_, seeing as the latter was cheating by having his regenerative powers on, when Sora very well knew the blonde could just switch them off.

Seifer charged forward with his gunblade, slashing at Axel with it, who blocked it with one of his chakrams. With the other, he set it aflame and at close range, he stabbed Seifer with it. However, this process caused Axel to become more concentrated on stabbing Seifer than blocking his gunblade, and he easily knocked the chakram blocking his gunblade aside and gripped onto it. Now that Seifer had both of Axel's chakrams, the redhead was out of weapons. The blonde turned to Rai and Fuu, and said, "Here, Fuu, you take this and make sure he doesn't get it." He tossed the chakrams to Fuu, who gripped it tightly and sent a glare towards the redhead who just sent her a look containing the same malice.

Sora would've said something but knew that even if he threw a keyblade or Larsa's sword at him, Axel would have no idea how to use either, and the fact that he wasn't an angel made sure that he _couldn't_ use a keyblade. The brunette kind of thought that the help of Fuu was like outside interference, but he didn't know what he could do to help Axel without completely stepping in and taking over the fight. Besides, both parties looked fine, anyway.

Seifer ran towards Axel again, who just stood there with a smirk on his face, fire surrounding his hands. As the blonde brought the gunblade down on him, Axel ducked, moved out of the way of the path of the weapon, and in his hands there was a fireball, which he so graciously shot right at the back of Seifer's head.

However, much to their surprise, that was only a shadow clone! The real Seifer was nowhere to be found. Larsa, Sora, and Axel all looked around for where he might be, while cocky looks were on the faces of Fuu and Rai. Larsa was the first one to see a blur out of the corner of his eye, running straight for Axel, "Axel! Behind you!"

Too late.

"AXEL!!!" Larsa and Sora ran to their redheaded friend as Seifer snickered, wiping his blood-coated gunblade on the grass. He, Fuu, and Rai, all started to walk away from the scene, laughter trailing their footsteps.

"This is bad," Sora said, glancing back at the fallen Roxas, who was still fainted. Looking back at Axel, who was clutching the wound in his chest, Sora frowned. He knew he had the power to heal, but he just didn't know how to use it! First Olette, then Axel! _'What next'_, Sora thought angrily,_ 'who next would get hurt by those three?_'

"I'll go inside and get someone." Larsa decided, standing up and running back inside.

"I can't..." Axel coughed out blood, "Transform back. Reno...won't be able to handle an injury...like this..."

"But you could at any moment, right?" Sora asked, and Axel nodded, looking at his wound again. He bit his lip, wishing he could try to heal him, but he didn't want the injury to get any worse by accidentally firing off some holy beam of light or something.

Larsa came back outside with the assembly of Student Council members. Larxene looked horrified when she saw, but then she masked her fear with a completely cold and uncaring look. No one seemed to have seen that spilt second of fear on her face, which was a good thing because the Lightning Queen didn't want to be known as a softie. Xemnas turned to Xaldin and said, "Xaldin, get your lance dragon and get Axel to the nearest hospital before he turns back to Reno."

Xaldin hesitated for a moment, before everyone(except the redhead himself) screamed, "NOW!"

-

"Oh my god..." For the second time, Aerith dropped one of her precious china teacups. Her emerald eyes were wide open with fear and worry, and her hands immediately flew to cover her mouth. "Cloud! Cloud, Tifa!" She called, starting to fan herself as she sat up. Both of the aforementioned people, as well as Zack, came in the room.

"Aerith, what's wrong?" Cloud asked, placing a hand on her shoulder, "What happened?"

"Something happened to Olette." Sora said, then added, "She's at the hospital." Seeing his father's angry look, Tifa and Zack's panicked look, Sora said, "It was Seifer's cronies!"

"Aerith, Tifa, why don't you two stay here and watch over the Roxases?" Cloud said, as he eyed the(still) unconscious Roxas Sora had dragged home along with the completely deadpan one that was sitting on the couch.

Tifa nodded, a broom already in her hand as she cleaned up the teacup Aerith had dropped. "I think that's a good idea, Aerith, sit down and I'll make you more tea, okay?" The brunette bearing much resemblance to her hospitalized daughter could only nod and fight back tears. The reason why Cloud didn't want Aerith going to see Olette was simple: No one wanted to see her break down in the middle of the hospital. If she was this bad at home, she wouldn't make things any better for the doctors at the hospital. Sora didn't really want to bring Cloud to the hospital either, because he would probably kill Hayner for whatever his reasons were. Sora didn't understand his father and why he was so quiet and he didn't think he ever would.

"That..." Aerith took a deep breath, "That would be nice." She nodded, then attempted to put a smile on her face and turned to the monotone Roxas, "Would you like to help Tifa, Roxas?" He just looked at her, stood up, and trudged into the kitchen. Aerith took that as a yes, and she turned back to the rest of her family(excluding Zack, who was /once/ her boyfriend) and said, "Please make sure Olette is okay."

"Will do, mom!" Sora said, saluting and walking out of the house.

-

Sora hated hospitals. The lights were always so unbearably light and it white was plastered over every inch of the place. Nurses always had a serious look on their faces, as if everyone was going to die and the world was doomed to destruction. The only noise he could hear was hacking and coughing, and Sora _hated_ that noise because it sounded like someone was going to keel over any minute. Not to mention on their way to where Olette was they had to dodge stretchers with pale people, crying people, and absolutely distraught people. To Sora, this place seemed more like a graveyard than a miracle-maker. But for Olette's sake, everyone hoped it was the latter.

The three finally arrived at the waiting room, where it seemed like everyone who was anyone, yet again, was assembled there. There was Larxene, a little girl who seemed only about three years old on her lap, Luxord talking to her, Hayner reading through the spellbook, Zexion sitting next to-- "Roxas?!?" Sora said, confused. They had left both sides of him back at home...was this the human Roxas?

The human Roxas looked up, tilted his head, stood up and said, "Brother? It's been so long since I've seen you last, brother!" It was almost chilling the way he said that, not because that Roxas meant to creep Sora out and it was just that their voices sounded **exactly alike.** He didn't get where the logic was in that, but Sora learned a long time ago to never judge the judgement of the higher authorities. They knew what they were doing. Most of the time, anyway.

"Brother?" Sora asked, as Roxas nodded, and then frowned. He looked worried that Sora didn't 'remember' him, or whatever he was expecting out of his 'brother'.

"I-I'm sorry...I guess I'm not all that important to be remembered, huh? Who was I kidding..." Roxas sighed and sat back down, a sad look in his eyes. "...I was hoping my brother would remember me. Of course he wouldn't, I'm nothing special compared to **them**." Sora felt bad that he didn't 'remember' Roxas, but he also felt angry he was putting himself down like that.

"What are you talking about?" Sora asked, confused. He sent a look to Cloud and Zack, who looked mildly confused. He looked at Hayner, who wasn't paying attention, to Larxene, the little girl, and Luxord, who all weren't paying attention(except for the little girl, but what would a three-year-old know about this whole situation?), and then, finally, at Zexion. The indigo-haired genius looked at Sora and mouthed, 'Inferiority complex' to him. Ah, so that was what it was. Human Roxas didn't think he could measure up to his other sides. "No offense, Roxas, but they are some pretty hard people to compare yourself to. I don't think _anyone_ can match up to them."

As Cloud and Zack went to go see Olette, Sora sat across from the human Roxas and asked, "Hey, my darkside...you've seen him, right?"

"Oh, no, I'm sorry." Roxas shook his head, "We went our separate ways. He seemed hostile, so I didn't want to ask him much. I'm sorry, I guess I should've. I can be so stupid."

"No, that's alright. I didn't want to meet him, anyway." Sora said, and shuddered. He wondered what his darkside was like. Maybe they looked the same, but were complete opposites? Maybe he was quiet, yet violent, like the machine Roxas?

Speaking of the machine Roxas, the other two Roxases suddenly 'poof'ed! into the room. The machine and the angel Roxas immediately took a step back from each other as the angel Roxas said, "Hello, everybody! Today is such a fine day to be alive, isn't it? I wonder how everyone is doing?"

"We're in a **hospital**, you idiot." Monotone Roxas growled, "How do you think everyone is doing?" He raised a fist, about to punch the perky Roxas, who screamed and ran behind Sora.

"Brother Sora!!!" Angel Roxas wailed, "He's picking on me!" He said in a childish voice reminiscent of Demyx. Like one of Demyx wasn't enough. Before Sora could say anything, the human Roxas stood up and walked over to them. Everyone looked up, interested on how they would interact.

"Leave him alone." Human Roxas said, attempting to glare down the violent Roxas, but the attempt went rather terrible. It looked like he was cowering instead of trying to intimidate the very intimidating silent Roxas. The monotone Roxas snickered.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't our resident inferior human? I dare you to make me leave him alone, I know you aren't brave enough to stop me." He said, but Sora thought otherwise. Sora thought the human Roxas was very brave for standing up to the monotone one, because the monotone one was the _**scariest **_out of all of them__

"I...I..." Human Roxas looked to Sora, "I have my big brother here! We'll stop you, Roxas! Right, Utsuho?"

"Huh?" Sora blinked. For some reason, and he didn't know why, but the name felt right. But he did know one thing: It had been a long time since anyone had ever called _him_ that.


	15. For Once I Know What it Feels Like

* * *

Holy fizzle. 50 chapters. We've come a long way. (-feels sudden need to sing Rockafella Skank-) Thank you all so, so, much. To every reader, to the dedicated reviewer and to everyone who has this story on their alerts list and haven't looked at it in years, I thank you too.

By the way, I don't own anything...and I know that I have to review all of your stories. After publishing this chapter, I'm going to be taking a hiatus from FF for awhile, m'kay? Leave a review telling me I need to review your story and when I get back here first thing I'll do is review, m'kays?

Angels in Flight: Eien no Tobira

Chapter 50: **F**or Once I Know What it Feels Like

"Everyone has some kind of double name." Zexion looked up at Sora, who still was a bit perplexed over his old name. Or rather, his _really_ great grandfather's old name. The violent Roxas backed off from the hyperactive Roxas, and was now standing there, his arms crossed and an angry look on his face for being interrupted

"Really?" Sora asked, blinking. Maybe it was some kind of disease or something. Like duplinameitis or something. Sora knew of Roxas' problem with his double names, after all, he **had** said he had an alter ego named Ven, too, and there was that whole confusing ordeal that Sora didn't want to get into about his brother stealing his real name and whatever. Roxas had told him many a time, but Sora never bothered to listen, care, and when he did both of those things, he never understood what the heck his alter ego was talking about.

"I have two." Zexion said, "Ienzo and..." He turned a little red, mumbling something Sora couldn't quite catch. Stepping closer to him and straining his ears, he heard Zexion mumble it again. But he couldn't hear the indigo-haired boy!

The monotone Roxas, however, was happy to tell Sora what he wanted to know. "Aqua." He said, alerting Zexion's attention as everyone burst out laughing except. After the laughter died out, Sora wiped a tear from his eye and looked to Zexion.

"Is it _really?"_ He asked. Zexion looked like he was about to explode and punch somebody. Oh wait, he always looked like that. Sora was _really_ curious as to how Zexion had gotten that name. He wasn't a...Sora's eyes widened before one of the Roxases(they all looked alike, Sora couldn't tell!) smacked him and told them that Zexion wasn't, at any point of any of his lives, a female.

"Well," The indigo-haired boy snapped, obviously not liking his name, "Axel's is Terra, so shut up!" He glared at everyone, but lightened up when laughter filled the air once more.

"Oh man, oh man, you crack me up." Sora wiped a tear from his eye yet again, "If he wasn't in the hospital--"

"He's in critical condition." Larxene, one of the few who hadn't laughed about Axel's other name snapped, "I'm sure you laughing at him **won't** make him feel better."

"Is Axel **that** badly hurt?" The Roxases asked simultaneously. Axel must be **all** of their friends. What a lucky guy.(sarcasm**not**intended)

The human Roxas asked if he could see him, the machine Roxas seconded the request by nodding his head, and the angel Roxas began to panic. "OH NO!" He cried, placing a hand on his forehead dramatically, "How am I ever going to live without my best friend?! Ohmygoshohmygosh, this is absolutely **DREADFUL! **What are **we**," Motioning all three of the Roxases, "going to do when he dies?! More importantly, what am **I **going to do?"

Larxene growled, lightning cackling in her hands. However, the little girl started to pull on her leg and said, "Mommy! Don't get mad again, pwease!"

Everyone(except Luxord and monotone Roxas, but that was a given) looked absolutely shocked. They looked to the little three-year-old, back to Larxene. Finally, the angel Roxas could only say stupidly, "YOU HAVE A KID?!"

"I made a lot of mistakes in my life. Shi--"Larxene glanced back to her daughter then said, "Crap happens. Life sucks. **Get over it before** **I make you!"**

"Wait. Her name is Lightning?" Sora asked, and the little girl nodded. _'Oh...so back when we overheard Larxene...she must be having a hard time raising that little girl all on her own. No wonder she supposedly 'hates' Reno. He's had a perfect life, living in a comfy cushion while she works to the bone for her kid.'_

"I'm Wightning!" Lightning said, pointing to herself. It was cute, Sora thought, how she pronounced words with that little 'baby accent' as he liked to call it. "Who's you?" She asked, pointing to Sora.

"I'm Sora." Sora said, pointing to himself. Lightning smiled, a smile almost rivaling his own. Not to be conceited, but Sora thought his grin was trademark and no one could copy it. Maybe Roxas if he tried, but other than that, no.

"Sowa is a pwetty name!" Lightning said, going over to Larxene and tugging on her cloak, "Momma, his name is Sowa!"

Larxene smiled(they were all surprised when they saw **her** smiling) and knelt down, saying, "Go tell Sora it's nice to mee--" She froze, in the middle of her sentence, when they all heard a voice. No, not just **a** voice, but three. Three that the trio of Roxases could identify: Reks, Vaan, and Naminé. It was curious, how the three Roxases acted when they knew she was coming.

"Naminé's here! YAAAY I LOVE HER!" Angel Roxas shouted, skipping around in happiness. He started to sing a little love song, then shut up and hummed the rest of the tune, going on about how great she was. "Naminé, Naminé, Naminé..."

The human Roxas had a very sublime smile on his face. "Naminé..." His eyes were completely lit up with joy. Although angels were supposed to spread joy and love, just looking at the human Roxas' expression, and his tone was enough to make anybody's day.

"That girl..." The last Roxas growled, clenching his fist, "I will **kill** her and make sure she's screaming every minute of it." Everyone looked at him with wide eyes, Sora deciding to take action. If Roxas knew that one half(er, quarter?) of him killed Naminé, he would spiral into depression and therefore make Sora depressed. And Sora didn't want to sink into the sadness of life!

"Okay, angry Roxas, please come with me. You too, angel Roxas. Get over here!" Sora grabbed the machine Roxas and the angel Roxas by the collar and dragged them away. The human Roxas acted the most like the real Roxas, although he sounded more like Sora than the angel Roxas, who sounded a lot like the actual Roxas. This was all so confusing with which Roxas held an aspect of the real Roxas, Sora's head was starting to spin. Shoving the two Roxases in a nearby closet, hoping that wouldn't prove disastrous results. Quickly rushing over to the scene that was going to take place between Naminé and the human Roxas, the confrontation everyone was eagerly awaiting for.

The three siblings arriving at the waiting room, Sora quickly mouthed to everyone to 'act natural'. Doing so, they didn't notice any reaction until Reks spoke, "Hello everybody." Pretending to be surprised by seeing them, they all gave the three their own greeting. Roxas', however, was the most unique.

"Ah." He got up and bowed, "Your Rightful Highness Princess Naminé, it is a pleasure to see you once more." Sora slapped his forehead. How could he forget the human Roxas' one major flaw! He still thought it was back in the olden time, back two thousand years ago! _'Oh god, they're going to think he's insane...'_ Sora thought, ready to say that he was feeling really sick today, when Reks replied.

"How did you know?" He asked. That shocked all of them. How would **Reks** know about Naminé's(albeit) tragic past? He may be her brother, but he wasn't a seer. Or maybe he was. These days, no one knew.

"How did I know?" Roxas repeated, blinking. "I'm sorry, are you undercover?"

Vaan and Reks exchanged glances. They then grabbed the poor human Roxas and dragged him over to where no one could see them. However, they did hear the occasional 'SHH!' and 'Don't tell!' Which only piqued their curiosity, wondering what the brothers could possibly be telling the human Roxas. Sora thought it would be best to try and extract the information out of his 'brother' later, as Sora didn't know where his memory was going to go after all three Roxases joined up again. A few interminable moments later, a very dazed and confused human Roxas was dragged back into the waiting room by the brothers.

"What was that about?" Naminé asked, giggling slightly, "If you can call me Princess, Ven, then I get to call you my knight!"

"Ven...?" Roxas asked, turning around to Sora, "I'm not Ve--"

"Hey, would you look at the time!" Sora said, laughing loudly to cover up what the human Roxas had inquired about, "Come on, **Ven**, let's go see Axel!" Grabbing Roxas' hand and dragging him one way, glancing at Larxene to see a slight nod to let him know he was going in the right direction. After all, he didn't want to seem like an idiot(too late) and go the wrong direction. Grabbing 'Ven' and pulling him along the many rooms, looking at the tags.

'Shinra, Reno.' "Aha! Here it is!" Sora said, throwing a triumphant fist in the air. A nurse walking nearby 'shhh'ed him and he apologized silently. Walking inside Reno's room, the human Roxas gasped. Reno was completely unconscious, and oxygen mask over his mouth. He was hooked up to all these kinds of machines and even a bag of blood. He had lost a lot of it, so he probably needed a blood donor. Of course, Sora was just pointing out the obvious, since why _else_ would a bag of blood be in the room unless some nurse decided to randomly leave it hooked up to Reno because she was either sadistically evil and morbid, or sadistically evil and morbid and had the mindset of Larxene.

"This is all my fault." Roxas said quietly, frowning, "If I were never alive, this would never have happened..."

"Dude, if you were never alive, then NONE of us would be here. Seifer wouldn't be here, _I_ wouldn't be here, Olette wouldn't be here, _Reno_ wouldn't have an adopted father, Axel would **dead**..." Sora said, crossing his arms, "The reason we're all alive is because of **you.** And if it weren't for **you**, Naminé would be dead."

Roxas gasped, looking absolutely crestfallen. Sora thought he would be happy about this announcement that he had caused Naminé to be alive. "No...it...it wasn't me. I couldn't do anything for her. When **he** killed her...I was powerless. I never do anything right. Ever since I saw the Princess, my dream was to become her knight. Then...my life became twisted and...it's all my fault!"

"If you say 'It's all my fault' one more time, I am going to slap you." Sora said threateningly, but human Roxas showed his valor and glared right back at Sora, whom almost flinched.

"Brother, you will do no such thing." Sora was surprised when Roxas said this. What happened to the shy and inferiority complex-inflicted Roxas? He was showing his bravery, a trait that shone through on the real Roxas.

"Really...?" Sora asked, raising an eyebrow.

"A-Ah," Roxas gasped and shook his head, "I'm sorry. That was out of place."

"Right..." Sora was about to say something, when they heard an ear-piercing scream. Roxas, a panicked look on his face, immediately bolted out of the room. Sora followed, closing the door behind him, both arriving at the waiting room in record time.

Everyone was at their feet in the room. Hayner seemed to be conjuring up some kind of spell, and Zexion and Luxord were holding back the machine Roxas from lashing out at Naminé. Larxene was in the back of the room away from the fighting, with Lightning in her arms. The angel Roxas was with her, looking horrified. Naminé's were in front of her, and the girl herself looked quite shocked.

"Naminé!" The human Roxas shouted, immediately going to her side, "Your Highness, are you alright?" He asked, sounding a little panicked.

"W-What's going on?" She asked. Everyone was concentrated on them, since Zexion and Luxord had a tight handle on the machine Roxas, and Hayner had cast a binding spell on the violent machine.

"Open your eyes, Your Highness, and you'll see." The human Roxas was being bold. Which is something the normal Roxas was, but Sora couldn't tell why the human Roxas had an inferiority complex that just flipped on and off like a light switch.

"But I have..." Naminé reached up to her bandages.

"Then don't." Reks and Vaan turned around when Roxas said this, watching as he pulled her bandages off of her eyes. Everyone was watching, wondering what her reaction would be. Immediately her hands flew up to her mouth, her pale blue eyes widening, and filling with tears.

Looking to Roxas, he just smiled softly and said, "You can see, right?" She nodded, looking shocked, as if she couldn't believe it herself.

'_No wonder...'_ Sora thought, _'Roxas didn't heal her blindness because she __**wasn't**__ blind.'_ He crossed his arms, wondering why Naminé would pretend being blind. Obviously someone would know if they were blind or not, so it was a mystery as to why she was looking quite perplexed.

"Roxas, I..." Naminé started, then gasped and clasped her hands over her mouth. Everyone looked surprised as well, except for those that didn't care.

"You knew!" Sora spluttered, his eyes as wide as his gaping mouth, "All this time, you knew!" He looked to a slightly guilty Naminé, then at everyone else. He couldn't believe this!

Before Sora could continue on his rant, the machine Roxas yelled, "Of course she knew! She'll do _anything_ to hurt me!"

Naminé looked shocked at this accusation. Her hands immediately flew up to her mouth, and she shook her head, "No, you don't understand, Roxas! I didn't mean to--"

"Yes!" He snarled, interrupting her, breaking out of the hold the two Student Council members had him in, "You gave me this stupid, accursed life! I hate this! I hate _**you!**_ If it weren't for you, I...I would never be like this!"

"Peace, peace." The human Roxas said, stepping inbetween 'Her Highness' and the angry Roxas. "Your life is not stupid or accursed."

"Says you!" Angry Roxas snapped, lunging forward, but the human Roxas stepped out of the way out of reflex, and the angry Roxas stopped in his tracks. "Heh, all we really _**are**_ just pieces of meat; playthings for those in Heaven to look down upon us and laugh at us and our miserable lives..."

"Why must you say such things??" Angel Roxas stepped towards them, his hand clutched to his heart, "Life is wonderful and beautiful! The sun is shining, the birds are chirping...what more of a reason could they give us to be alive?"

It was at this time, Hayner finished casting his spell. Words seemed to flow out of his book, written in an unknown language. They wrapped around the machine, constricting any movement. "Sora," Hayner spoke, "All three Roxases are here; but I can't perform any high-level spell that would merge them until you find your darkside."

"But it could be anywhere in Twilight Town!" Sora said, frowning, "I doubt you can keep your hold on that spell until I find it!"

"Then," Hayner said, taking a deep breath, "You guys better get moving, huh?"

"Yes, we should find brother's darkside as soon as it's possible." Human Roxas said, nodding. Everyone stood up, once more looking to Sora for guidance. And this time, there was no Larsa to command.

"Alright, then..." Sora sighed, then said, "Naminé, Reks, Vaan, you'll be search party number one. Larxene, Luxord, and Lightning, make up search party number two. Perky and normal Roxas are coming with me, and Zexion--" Sora paused, remembering when he had criticized Zexion for not being able to fight, and then cringed slightly, continuing, "You stay here with Hayner in case the spell breaks when I get back. Everyone okay?"

One outrageously obnoxious matrix-like 'nooooo' came from none other than the perky Roxas. Honestly, Sora felt like he was going to have to slap his ANNOYING alter ego's perkier side. "WHY are you unhappy, angel Roxas?"

"B-Because!" The angel Roxas wailed, dropping to his knees and beginning to crawl over to his favorite blonde(no, **not** Larxene), "I want to be with the sunshine in my life! I cannot survive without Naminé!"

Sora opened his mouth to tell him to shut up, but got interrupted by the angel Roxas' wailing. He huffed and said, "Fine then. Angel Roxas, go with Naminé."

But to this, the human Roxas did not seem to favor. "B-B-But brother! I wish to be with Her Highness as well!" He clasped his hands together and gave Sora a begging look. The brunette sighed in irritation. But Naminé seemed to be enjoying the attention...

"Fine! Then Naminé can come with us." Sora decided. _However,_ this made a certain pair of brothers angry.

"We're not leaving Naminé with a bunch of pubescent, stupid, hormonal **boys**." Reks said, and Vaan nodded, before really getting what he said. In fact, it took all of the males to think over Reks' word choice.

Simultaneously, all of the 'pubescent, stupid, hormonal boys' said, "Hey!"

Sora added, "You were a pubescent, stupid, hormonal boy once too!"

Reks laughed at this and grabbed onto Naminé's shoulder as if to keep her from going with both Roxases and Sora, "Exactly why I don't want to leave her alone with _you_ three. Especially," He glanced at the angel Roxas, who was practically crying a river and clinging onto Naminé's leg(and judging by the girl's expression, she thought it was quite freaky), "_**Him.**_ I think the other one is too quiet to do anything, but I don't know."

"Riiiight..." Sora scratched his head, then sighed as he came up with the only solution possible to him, "I guess search groups one and three will merge, then."

"Good," Reks said, as they all began to walk out of the hospital as hastily as you _could_ walk out of a hospital without being yelled at, "You need to tell me why that Ven...Roxas...person hates my little sister, too. And why there's three of them..."

"Oh, right..." Sora breathed. Did he mention how he **hated** explaining long, confusing, and complicated stories such as these? Not to mention the fact that he really didn't understand it all himself...

-

It seemed like hours. And hours. And hours. Of explaining, of searching, of explaining and searching, and answering Reks' questions. Oh, and, explaining and searching some more. Reks and Vaan didn't seem to understand the situation, and their search for Sora's darkside had turned up with nothing. They had searched every single nook and cranny, turned the whole town upside down, yet still found **nothing.** Sora was starting to lose hope. He feared that he was going to be stuck with that unbearably perky angel Roxas. (Though it was amusing to hear and see both Roxases attempts to steal Naminé's attention)

Sora, Reks and Vaan were busy having intelligent conversation in front of their little group. A couple of feet behind them, the two Roxases were trying to get Naminé's eyes on them. Occasionally the Roxases would break out into a mini-fight, but the blonde peacemaker they were fighting over normally solved it within a minute. Sora thought it was intensely annoying, but apparently Naminé was enjoying it, by the way she would giggle whenever either said something to her. Constantly would Sora roll his eyes and make with his hands a talking motion. It was _annoying_ him. Finally, Sora threw his hands up in the air out of exasperation and said, "I give up! I think my darkside ran off somewhere and we'll never be able to find him and I'll be STUCK living with them and I'll have an eternal fight in my home and then Kairi will never want to be with me because she'll think that I'm a barbarian and then I--"

Reks cut off his pessimistic to-be soliloquy of what was going to happen to him. "Did you say Kairi? That was the girl you were dancing with, right?"

"Yeah." Sora laughed and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly as a blush spread amongst his cheeks. That party had been such bliss--but then it ended up _so_ wrong! It was not supposed to have turned out like that! For Olette's sake, he needed to get Roxas back in one piece so they could really give Seifer some payback...although he was Riku and best friends shouldn't have to fight!

"Then..." He looked at Sora and seemed to be in a contemplative mood, "You obviously care a lot for her, right?"

"Ri--" When Sora realized where Reks was going with this, his eyes widened. "No! No, no! _God_ no! (At the mention of 'God', angel Roxas squeaked) He couldn't have--!"

A frown upon everyone's faces, Vaan was the one to say, "There's only one way to find out."

* * *

Like I stated before, I'll be taking a hiatus from fanfiction for awhile--to be more specific, this _story._ I'm not going to be publishing anything until this story is done; but I'm writing everything I want to publish later on Word. Which is why updates might not come for a whileas in...a WHILE...I know exactly how this story is going to end and everything, it's just that there are some kinks I haven't figured out yet. Like...how Roxas/Sora is actually going to defeat Seifer. I want it to be big and catastrophic, you know? I have a couple of ways...but they are all very sad and will make me cry. D: and I like happy endings! I know I'm a sucker for sad endings, and seriously, I have to get around to making a super tragic story one day...but not this one! Because you know...angels are always supposed to be happy and joyful(and...REALLY annoying as we find out) and yeah! An angel story is supposed to be happy!

So yeah, there's my little paragraph of wonders. See you all soon!...Hopefully. D


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